


finding home

by strawberryeskel



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Adoption, Age Play, Age Play Caregiver Eskel, Age Play Caregiver Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Age Play Little Jaskier | Dandelion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern Witchers (The Witcher), Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Artist Jaskier | Dandelion, Bathing/Washing, Caring Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cat Roach (The Witcher), College Student Jaskier | Dandelion, Corporal Punishment, Cuddling & Snuggling, Daddy Dom Eskel (The Witcher), Daddy Dom Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Discipline, Domestic Discipline, Domestic Fluff, Eskel Loves Jaskier | Dandelion, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Loves Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion Loves Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion is a Ray of Sunshine, Jaskier | Dandelion loves Eskel, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Nightmares, No Sex, Non-Sexual Age Play, OOC, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Eskel (The Witcher), Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Punishment, Sick Jaskier | Dandelion, Sickfic, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Spanking, Witchers Have Feelings (The Witcher), alternate universe - littles are known
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27780310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryeskel/pseuds/strawberryeskel
Summary: Julian is a little who is struggling with self acceptance, having been pushed aside by his family. Every little needs to have one or more legal caregivers though, and social services have placed him in the care of Geralt and Eskel Rivia, who have been looking to adopt a little boy for a really long time.
Relationships: Eskel & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Eskel & Jaskier | Dandelion, Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion & Lambert, Lambert & Vesemir (The Witcher)
Comments: 98
Kudos: 336





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is my second Witcher non-sexual age play fic (I'll link my first one lower if you guys want to check it out, even though it's possible you may be reading this because of that one).
> 
> This story will feature, as the summary says, Julian and daddies! Eskel and Geralt. There will be spanking (as punishment) in later chapters, but I haven't tagged it yet since it hasn't shown up, so I'll tag more as the story progresses.
> 
> One important thing to know is that I'm in college, and I might not always have time to update as often as I'd like or I may not always have the inspiration for it (although I doubt that's going to be the case right now, since I have a lot of ideas for this fic).
> 
> Still, reviews and constructive criticism are _very_ much appreciated, as well as any prompts/ ideas you guys may have. Enjoy reading! <3
> 
> This is my other non-sexual age plat AU of The Witcher, with Jaskier (Julian) and daddy Geralt, although this mainly focuses on spanking: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941499

Julian stopped for a moment, pulling the strap of his duffel bag more securely over his shoulder before following his social worker, Marilka, down the sidewalk and towards the large, two story brick house on the side of the road. He gulped nervously, looking around. He really, really didn’t want to do this, but he had no choice.

Since he’d been classified as a little once he turned 18 last year, Julian was legally required to have at least one caregiver. Typically, signs of someone’s future classification would start to show once they hit puberty, so most littles usually found someone willing to be their caregiver by the time they turned 18, whether it was a family member or not. That wasn’t the case for Julian, however, because while his family had disliked him even before he’d been classified, they’d absolutely despised him afterwards, kicking him out and claiming that they had no need for _‘a freak of a son’_ among other more insensible things. By some miracle, Julian had managed to remain without a caregiver for a whole year, during which time he also finished his first year of college. Luckily for him, since he’d been admitted on a scholarship, he could survive without his parents, even if that meant working two part time jobs in order to make a livable income.

His luck did run out however. At the end of his second semester, social services showed up on campus, claiming that he needed to be assigned a caregiver as soon as possible. Julian had protested, of course, saying he had no need for one and claiming that he had never felt _‘little’_ as some people put it, so his classification must have been wrong. He wasn’t a freak, after all. He would prove it.

The classification test was repeated at his request, but the result, much to Julian’s dismay, remained unchanged. So, after much negotiation, the people from social services agreed to let him finish the school year under careful observation, however it was decided that once the semester had ended, he would immediately be placed with a suitable caregiver. During this period, Julian had spent every waking minute of his free time trying to look for a loophole in the legislation, something, _anything_ that would allow him to carry on without the need for a caregiver.

Despite his efforts, all his attempts of avoiding his placement with a caregiver had been for nothing, or else he wouldn’t be here today. He wasn’t getting just one caregiver either, but two. From what Marilka had told him, the two men, whom she knew personally, had been wanting to adopt a little for a very long time, and when they read his file they decided he was the one. That was more than a little confusing and nerve wracking, Julian thought, even from an objective point of view. He didn’t actually know what his file said, exactly, but he was sure it contained everything about his efforts to avoid getting a caregiver, and who would want a little who didn’t want to be cared for? Geralt and Eskel Rivia, apparently, and Marilka thought they would be a good fit, too, hence they were here. The three of them would have a trial period of a month, after which they will meet with social services to decide whether the placement would become permanent or not.

Julian didn’t know what he wanted, honestly. On the one hand, he knew that there was no way of managing to slip by without a caregiver any longer, but he also wasn’t sure if he could decide whether he wanted to permanently live with these men in just a month. On the other hand, he knew that if he rejected them, he would be spending his holiday – or maybe even longer than that – going in and out of state institutions until social services found someone else who was willing to take him. Another problem was that caregivers could decide whether or not he would be allowed to continue his education – and sure, college was tiresome and annoying sometimes, but he still liked it, and he wanted to continue his studies – and Marilka had assured him, on multiple occasions, that Geralt and Eskel were very much in favor of the idea of him continuing his education, and another advantage of choosing them as a permanent placement was that they also lived in the same city where Julian studied, so that _would_ make going to college much easier.

They reached the front door much too soon for Julian’s liking, and he swallowed thickly when Marilka rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened, and two men stepped out. They were both equally well built and they were of the same height, which meant that each of them was about a head and a half taller than Julian. The one on the right had long white hair, the upper part of which was tied into a loose ponytail, and his face was more angular and with a strong jaw. The one on the left had dark brown hair that was cropped short, and the right side of his face was covered by a large scar. Both of them had golden, cat – like eyes, and Julian remembered that they were Witchers.

Witchers were monster hunters who had undergone various mutations that made them stronger, faster and gave them longer lifespans than those of most people in order to aid them in their (very lucrative) job. There were quite few of them left nowadays, and some people still had a bias against them, only because they were different. Julian hadn’t ever disliked Witchers – well, not that he’d met one before, but then again neither had most people who detested them – and he didn’t see the logic behind it, either, especially because he himself had been cast aside by his family for something that wasn’t his fault. 

“Julian, these are Geralt and Eskel,” Marilka spoke, pointing to each of them, “and this is Julian.”

“Hello Julian,” Geralt said, and Eskel smiled at him. They looked… _kind_ , almost, and Julian wasn’t sure if that was something he’d expected.

He tried to offer a small smile in return, although he was fairly sure it might have looked more like a grimace than anything else. Still, the other men didn’t seem to notice, or at least they didn’t mind.

“Well then,” Marilka spoke again, “I’ll leave you to get acquainted. You can always call or text me if you ever need anything.”

After saying goodbye, the two men invited Julian inside.

“Here, let me take that,” Eskel said, taking Julian’s duffel bag while the younger man took off his shoes.

“Is this everything you have?” Geralt asked, referring to the bag.

“I… uh, yes,” Julian said, blushing slightly. He hadn’t really had the possibility to take his whole wardrobe with him when he’d been kicked out, and he hadn’t had the money to buy as many clothes as he might have liked during college, either.

“Hm,” Geralt grunted, frowning, and Julian ducked his head, “we’ll take you shopping soon, then. Come on, let’s show you around,” he continued, placing a hand on Julian’s shoulder and steering him further into the house before he had the chance to say anything.

The house was spacious and well lit, with large windows and simple and comfortable, but clearly expensive furniture. Downstairs, Julian learned, were the kitchen, living room, a bathroom that was also used for laundry and a library. 

“That’s our room,” Eskel said once they’d climbed up the stairs, pointing to a closed door on the right, “you can come to us any time, just make sure to knock. And this one is yours,” he continued, having moved further down the hall to the left, opening the door to another room.

Geralt, who still hadn’t removed his hand from the back of Julian’s shoulder, gave him a gentle push, and the younger man stepped inside. The room was well lit, just like the rest of the house, with light, grey - blue walls and dark floorboards partially covered by a fluffy yellow carpet with panthers printed all over it. In one of the corners were a bed and a nightstand, while in another there was a burgundy, soft looking rocking armchair that seemed like it could comfortably hold two people at once. There was also a door leading to a bathroom and closet, and against one of the walls was a low table with some cushions stacked underneath it. On the table sat the biggest box of crayons Julian had ever seen, and next to the table there was a bookshelf. The top shelves were left bare save for a small, red plastic box, but the bottom ones held an assortment of coloring books, puzzles and transparent storage boxes which, as far as Julian could see, contained things like building blocks and other colorful toys.

“We didn’t know what sort of toys you would like,” Eskel said, setting the bag on the floor next to the closet, “so we thought we’d get you a few of everything. You can pick out more when we go shopping, or you can redecorate if you’d like.”

“No… this is… uhh, nice… thank you,” Julian answered, not quite sure what to do. 

“Alright, we’ll leave you to get settled,” Geralt said, nodding, “come downstairs when you’re ready, and we’ll go over the rules.”

With that, the older men left, and Julian let out a relieved breath. Slowly, almost cautiously, he wandered over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. The bedsheets were white with little, colorful hot air balloons patterned all over them. The duvet was soft and puffy, and over it was a plush, purple blanked with little stars embroidered at the hem. Julian absentmindedly ran his thumb over it, looking around the room once more. It was nice, if he was being honest with himself, certainly the nicest thing anyone had done for him ever since… well… _ever_ , really, and they’d done it without even knowing him. This was… his life now, he supposed. Julian really hoped that this would go over well, because it was the best chance he had and, if he was being completely honest with himself, so far it didn’t look like it was going to be half as bad as he imagined it would be.

Sighing, he stood up, picking up his bag and beginning to stack his clothes in the closet. It didn’t take him long, considering he didn’t have nearly as many as he used to. Afterwards, he took out his small toiletry bag and padded over to the bathroom, which was large with white and grey tiles and had a huge tub off to one side. Then, he returned to the bedroom, taking out the last of his belongings from the duffel bag: his laptop, a few books and a sketchbook that he liked to doodle or write his thoughts in sometimes. He set them all on one of the empty shelves of the bookshelf, when the little red box that was seated on the other end of the same shelf caught his attention again. Cautiously, he lifted it, and when he opened the lid he discovered an assortment of pastel colored pacifiers. He looked at them for a moment before closing the box and placing it back where he’d found it. He didn’t know what to make of it, really… a few months ago, he would have recoiled upon seeing them, knowing that they were intended for him, but now… he certainly wasn’t eager to use them, by any means, but he wasn’t as outraged at the idea, he supposed, having had more time to grow used to his… _predicament_. Still, he would _much_ rather go without using them, thank you very much.

He stepped back, taking a look at the lower part of the bookshelf, the one that was filled with toys and coloring books and story books. He’d never played before, as an adult, though he hadn’t done much of it as a child, either, and he’d tried to keep his mind as far away from anything related to age play as possible. But now, looking at those toys, his toys, he supposed, although he wouldn’t call them that out loud, he couldn’t help but admit that a small part of his brain was wondering about what it would be like to play with those colorful wooden blocks.

Julian shook his head, standing back. He looked at his phone noticing that almost half an hour had passed since he’d been left on his own in his room. After throwing one more glance behind him, he exited the bedroom and closed the door. Carefully, he climbed down the stairs, looking around for a second once he’d reached the ground floor until a voice came from somewhere on his right.

“In the living room,” called Geralt, and Julian followed his voice.

When he entered the room, he saw that Geralt was seated on one of the armchairs while Eskel was sitting in the middle of the couch.

“C’mere,” said the other man, patting a spot next to him. Julian did as he was told, sitting down on the couch next to Eskel. The way he was seated was so that he would be sort of in - between both of his new caregivers, he realized.

“Alright, so we were thinking of going over the rules, and then we could have dinner, hmm?” Eskel asked.

Julian nodded, fiddling with his fingers. He wasn’t very hungry yet, but he knew that he was going to be in about an hour.

“Right, so the first rule is that you’re supposed to call me daddy and Geralt papa.”

Julian nodded at that. While he definitely wasn’t eager to do so, he knew that most of the time it was generally expected for littles to refer to their caregivers as such.

“Secondly, no lying, and that’s very important,” Eskel continued, “we don’t tolerate dishonesty and we’re going to be completely honest with you, so you’re expected to do the same in return, do you understand?”

“Yes,” Julian said. It seemed logical, thus far.

“Next,” Geralt said, taking over, “we expect you to be polite, so that means no cursing, saying please and thank you and no talking back. If you have a problem with anything we ask you to do you can tell us, no matter the situation, but you’re supposed to do so politely.”

Julian nodded again, thinking it seemed mostly doable except for the cursing part, since he sometimes did it without even realizing.

“Next, you’re supposed to listen to what we tell you to do,” Geralt continued, “and that doesn’t mean blind obedience on everything we say,” he added, seeing Julian’s anxious look, “but it means that sometimes we may know better, and you can tell us if you have a different opinion, I’ve told you we’ll listen to what you have to say no matter what, but ultimately you should still listen.”

That… did calm Julian somewhat, actually. Even though the two men were Witchers and much stronger than him, they didn’t make him feel immediately threatened, and Julian thought they looked trustworthy enough, at least thus far.

“Now, bedtime is 9:30, and you can stay up a little later every once in a while if you ask, but only sometimes,” Geralt added.

“I… _what_?” Julian asked, unable to help himself, “I don’t think I’ve ever gone to bed that early.”

“It’s a perfectly appropriate bedtime for little boys, Julian,” Eskel said, “and what time _do_ you usually go to bed?”

“Around 12 or 1, I think?” Julian answered, and the two men shook their heads, displeased.

“Well, that certainly won’t be happening anymore,” Eskel replied, “if you want, we could change it to 10 for the first week, so that it’s easier to get used to.”

“I… yes, I suppose, thank you,” Julian said, still not happy but figuring that he would take everything he could get. Besides, it wasn’t as if there was anything to stop him from spending more time on his phone once the other men thought he’d gone to bed, anyways.

“You’re welcome,” Eskel continued, “and we also expect you to ask before going out, and to be back by the time we tell you. You can ask us to drive you anywhere, by the way, since I know you don’t have a license and we’re usually home unless we’re on a contract, and that only typically happens a few days a month. Or you can ask for money for an Uber. You can ask for money for anything, actually, for clothes or toys or whatever else you may want, the only rule is that you shouldn’t buy something you’re not going to use, alright?”

“Yes, thank you,” the boy replied, even though he knew he’d probably be too insecure to ask them for such things, at the very least right now, but he still appreciated the gesture.

“You’re welcome,” Eskel replied, “was there anything else?” he asked, squinting as he looked at Geralt. 

“Hmm… smoking,” Geralt said, frowning.

“Oh, yes,” the other man agreed, looking similarly disgruntled.

“We’ve read in your file,” Geralt began again, “that you smoke or that you used to. That won’t be happening anymore, your health is extremely important and there’s no point in damaging it uselessly. On the same note, if you ever feel unwell or if anything hurts please tell us so that we can help you, ok?”

“Yes,” Julian answered, “and I haven’t really been smoking for a few months…” he trailed off, and it was true, he hadn’t really been affording it any longer, and he’d slowly weaned off of it.

“That’s good,” Eskel said, “and no drinking either, only every now and then and if we allow you to, yeah?”

“Ok,” Julian said, not minding much since he wasn’t that much of a drinker either way, except for the occasional night out, which Geralt and Eskel would probably know about if it were to happen from now on, anyways.

“Now, what do _you_ expect from us?” Geralt said, and Julian was more than a little taken aback at that. He’d definitely expected to be given rules, but he certainly hadn’t imagined he’d be asked about what he wanted. Still, he had a feeling that saying something along the lines of _‘to not be forced to be here’_ wouldn’t go over well.

“I… uh… I can still go to college, right?” he asked. Even though Marilka had told him this was the case, he wanted to be sure.

“Yes, of course, it’s very good that you want to go,” Geralt answered, “but keep in mind that we’ll expect you to make an effort and have good results, although I don’t think that’s going to be a problem considering how good your grades have been thus far.”

Julian blushed at that, ducking his head and nodding slightly. He thought he’d heard something akin to pride in the older man’s voice when he mentioned his grades.

“What else?” Eskel asked, setting a careful, warm hand on one of Julian’s knees.

“I’m… umm… I’m not sure?” he answered, sheepishly. He really hadn’t been expecting to be asked something like this, and he couldn’t think of anything else he could ask right now. 

“That’s ok,” Eskel replied, “you can tell us whenever if you think of something else. I know things are strange and probably confusing right now and you may not be sure of what’s going on all the time, but you can talk to us about anything you want. We’re here to take care of you, to help you, after all.”

“Thank you,” Julian said, hoping this was the case.

“Now, there were some other things we wanted to ask you about,” Geralt said, “would you like to wear diapers?”

“ _No!_ ” Julian jumped. _Absolutely not!_ He would not, under any circumstances, do _that._

“Inside voice, young man,” Eskel scolded, cocking his head to the side and looking sternly down at him. Julian hadn’t been expecting it, really, and it made him feel oddly… _small_ , in a way.

“Sorry,” he said, blushing and not meeting the older man’s gaze.

“It’s alright, just be careful next time,” Eskel said, “so no diapers, unless you ever have an accident, or if you ever want to change your mind, that’s totally fine.”

“I… uh… I won’t,” Julian said, already red as a strawberry. If he was being 100% honest, there have been some rare occasions where he’d almost forgotten to go to the bathroom, but he hadn’t actually had any accidents.

“Ok,” Geralt said, apparently choosing to ignore his embarrassment, “there’s some pacifiers in your room, you might have seen them already, and we also have a few bottles. We won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, but we encourage you to try things out and see what you may like, since we know you haven’t really had the chance to. No one is going to be making fun of you here, I promise.”

Julian nodded, blue eyes cast downwards, not quite sure of what else he’d be supposed to say.

“That’s everything, I think, right?” Geralt asked, looking at his husband.

“Mhmm, I think so. Is there anything else you’d like to know, little one?” He asked, turning to Julian again.

“What about… umm… punishments?” he asked, blushing both at Eskel’s endearment and because of the question he’d just asked. Not that he was enthusiastic to be punished, but he knew that it would probably happen in the future due to his occasional tendency to break rules, so he figured he’d better be prepared.

“Well,” Eskel replied, “punishments would usually be either spanking for bigger infractions, or time outs for small ones, although we might also do things like send you to bed early depending on what you did. But I wouldn’t worry about that right now, I know that you’re a good boy and you’ll behave, yeah?” he asked, smoothing back the younger man’s hair with one hand.

“Yeah,” Julian said, blushing to the tips of his ears.

“Alright, let’s go make something for dinner,” Geralt said a moment later, this time noticing the boy’s discomfort “are you hungry?”

“A little bit,” Julian answered sheepishly, and Geralt nodded.

“Ok, would mashed potatoes and chicken be alright for tonight?”

“Yes,” the younger man answered.

Geralt nodded at that, getting up and heading into the kitchen, patting Julian’s head when he passed him by, which brought another bout of blushing to his cheeks.

“It would probably be a good idea to tell us what foods you like and don’t like, so we know what to make. Your medical file didn’t say anything about allergies, so that’s good.” Eskel said, once they’d been left alone.

Julian nodded at that. For the past year he’d mostly lived off of ramen, microwaveable meals, cereal and sandwiches, not because he didn’t know how to cook – and he wasn’t an expert by any means, but he knew how to make basic things like pasta – but because he didn’t have the appliances to do so. Still, he was fairly sure his new caregivers wouldn’t be very pleased to hear that bit of information.

“Umm, well… I don’t really like food that’s super spicy or that has too much garlic or raw onion. And I don’t like cauliflower and grapes. And sweet potato.”

“Alright, I’ll remember that. And what about what you do like?” Eskel asked.

“I’ll eat just about anything else, I suppose.”

“Ok then. I can take you grocery shopping with me next time I go and we can get more of what you like, if you want,” the Witcher replied.

“Ok,” Julian said, “what… uh… what should I do now?” he trailed off after a few moments of silence.

“You can go to the library, or up to your room, if you’d like. We’ll call you when the food is ready, it’s going to take about half an hour.”

Julian nodded at that, deciding he should probably go to his bedroom for now. He liked reading a lot, and their library was very big, and Geralt and Eskel had said he was free to go there or anywhere else inside the house or in the backyard whenever he wanted to, but he still didn’t feel comfortable enough to explore yet.

So, he went into his new room, taking a moment to inspect the toys on the bookshelf – not that he was actually interested in playing with them – or at least that’s what he told himself, even though he acknowledged the fact that many of them did seem kind of fun, like the puzzles or the building blocks or the coloring books. He threw a long glance at the story books, too, running his fingers over the spines and remembering how he’d sometimes wished someone would read to him when he was little. 

Sighing, he stood up, going over to the bed and pushing the covers aside before laying down on his side. He must have stayed like that for quite a while, lost in thought, because before he knew it a knock was heard from the other side of the door, and a moment later Eskel popped his head in.

“Come on, dinner’s ready,” he said, waiting for Julian by the door before taking his hand and leading him downstairs. The boy blushed again but didn’t protest. Eskel’s hand was calloused but warm around his, and it felt comforting in a way he hadn’t anticipated.

Soon, they reached the kitchen, where he was directed to sit down at the table whilst Geralt plated their food and Eskel quickly set the table.

“Do you need help?” Geralt asked once he’d set his plate in front of him.

“I… no,” Julian replied, flushing. He didn’t need help with his dinner, he thought as he repeated to himself again that he wasn’t a baby.

“Ok,” the other man answered.

Dinner was very good, even though it wasn’t anything fancy, but Julian could barely eat more than half of what was on his plate.

“Is anything wrong?” Eskel asked a few moments later, when he noticed that the boy had stopped eating and was mostly pushing food around with his fork.

“No, just… I can’t finish… _sorry_ ,” Julian said, ducking his head and bracing himself for a reprimand that never came.

“That’s ok,” Geralt said, “eat however much you need. You can always get whatever you want from here if you’re hungry, or you could tell us to make you something. No sweets before meals, though, ok?”

Julian nodded at that before Eskel spoke once more.

“You’re excused if you want to go, just leave your plate by the sink.”

“Thank you,” Julian said, doing as he was told before heading back upstairs.

Reaching his room, he closed the door behind him before carefully sitting down on the armchair in the corner. He gave it a tentative push and it began rocking slightly. He sighed, lost in thought as he continued to rock back and forth. Today had been… _strange_ , to say the least. His anxiety had prevented him from having any coherent expectations, but this had still been… _surprising_ , in a way, and not in a bad one either. Sure, things were weird and kind of awkward sometimes, and he really didn’t want to have to act like a child, but the Witchers seemed nice if he was being honest, and especially given the options he had, he supposed he wouldn’t mind living here as much as he had anticipated.

Julian stood up, reaching for his phone that he’d left on the nightstand before sitting back down on the armchair. It was almost 9 already, he realized, scrolling absentmindedly through his feed and mentally whining about the stupid bedtime he’d been given. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. It wasn’t as if anyone would know whether he stayed up later if he remained in his room and kept quiet, or at least so he thought.

About 30 minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Geralt popped his head into the room. 

“Can I come in?” he asked, and Julian nodded, standing up.

“I realized we forgot to give you this earlier. Again, we weren’t sure what you’d like, and it’s fine if you don’t want him, you can pick out whatever toys you’d like when we go shopping,” as he said this, Geralt procured an impossibly soft looking stuffed bear from behind his back, offering it to Julian. It had long grey fur and a brown velvet nose, and around his neck was a big, red tartan bow.

“I…” Julian trailed off, a bit taken aback. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had put in this much thought into making him feel comfortable. The part of his brain that kept repeating that he was normal and shouldn’t want this was momentarily eclipsed by curiosity. Slowly, he reached out towards the toy, the pads of his fingers brushing against the fluffy fur. It was even softer than it looked, and before he could stop himself, Julian had already taken in and buried the side of his face against it.

“Thank you,” he mumbled embarrassed, pulling the bear away from his face once he realized what he’d done.

Geralt smiled gently at the boy, his golden eyes soft as he looked at him fondly for a few seconds. 

“You’re welcome,” he said, “why don’t you go wash up, hmm? It’s almost time for bed.”

“But I thought… you said that it could be 10 for the first week?” Julian asked, confused. It was barely past 9:30 now.

“Yes, we did,” the older man replied, “but that means you have to be in bed by that time.”

“Oh, ok,” Julian said, setting the bear down on the bed before heading towards the bathroom as he’d been told.

“Do you need help?” Geralt asked, and Julian blushed beet red at the suggestion.

“Err… no, thank you. It’s fine.”

“Alright,” the man answered, once again seemingly unfazed by his embarrassment, “we’ll come tuck you in later,” he added before exiting the room and softly closing the door behind him.

Julian entered the bathroom, stripping of his clothes and depositing them in the laundry bin before stepping into the tub and starting to shower. No one had ever tucked him in before, he realized, not even when he was little, and he vividly remembered how he sometimes wished that this was the case when he read about in in books or saw it on TV.

After showering, the young man stepped out of the tub and wrapped himself up in what he was sure was the softest towel he’d ever used. He exited the bathroom, walking over to the closet and picking up his pyjamas before getting dressed.

He looked around the room once more before his eyes landed on the stuffed bear that he’d left on the bed. He went and sat down on the edge of the bed, picking up the toy and running his hands through his soft fur, looking at his glassy, black plastic eyes before hugging him close to his chest. Julian sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He was tired, he realized, the day had been long and it had taken a toll on him, and even though he’d been mentally bemoaning his upcoming early bedtime, he thought that he was tired enough that he could actually fall asleep early this once.

Someone knocked at the door again, and his new caregivers entered the room. Geralt took a look at his slightly worn out pyjamas and frowned the same way he had when he’d seen his luggage in the hallway earlier that day. 

When he noticed the bear in his arms, though, he smiled, and so did Eskel, both of them looking kind of… _fond_ , he supposed?

“Time for bed now, little one. Come on, lay down,” Eskel said, approaching him, and Julian did as he was told, still holding the bear. 

Eskel tucked the blankets around him before pressing a kiss to his forehead, which took him by surprise a little.

“Good night, Julian,” he said, before stepping back and allowing Geralt to take his place.

The other Witcher stroked his hair gently before kissing his forehead as well.

“Good night, little one. Sleep well,” he said.

“Good night,” Julian replied, burrowing closer into the blankets, already half asleep, and the two older men smiled at him again before turning off the light and leaving the room.

They headed to their room, closing the door behind them. Eskel pushed Geralt against the door, kissing him softly before pulling back. 

“What do you think?” he asked.

“He’s _adorable_ , I want to hug him and never let him go” Geralt answered, “but he’s so… anxious… to be little.”

“Mhmm,” Eskel agreed, “we need to encourage him, I think. To show him it’s ok. I really want him to stay.”

“Yeah, so do I, he’s such a sweet boy. _And_ we need to take him shopping,” Geralt added.

“Not tomorrow though,” Eskel said, “let’s allow him to settle down for a day or two first.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Geralt said, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close to his chest, “he’s going to be ok.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very surprised that I've managed to update again this quickly, idk if I'll be able to keep doing that in the future, although it's possible since I have a lot of ideas for this fic.
> 
> Should I have been studying for my midterm on Thursday and doing homework instead of finishing this chapter? Maybe...
> 
> Also, this may be a lot of Eskel, but I love him so much and I feel like there's not enough Eskel content out there. Plus, I'm upset that they've recast him in the show, so in my head he'll always look like Thue Rasmussen. Is there going to be more Eskel in the following chapters? **Yes.**
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

The next morning Julian woke up slowly, confused with his surroundings at first until he remembered the events of the previous day. He stood up a few moments later, leaving the bear that he’d been holding on to throughout the night next to the pillow before going into the bathroom.

After using the bathroom and washing his face, he wandered over to the closet, from where he picked out a pair of soft sweatpants and a t shirt along with socks and underwear. After he’d changed, he spent a few minutes thinking about what he should do before he came to the conclusion that he would eventually have to go downstairs.

Closing the door behind him, he padded down the stairs, from where he could see the back of Eskel’s head rummaging around the kitchen. Even though he was sure he’d been completely quiet, the older man must have heard him, because a moment later he turned around and smiled softly at him, beckoning him closer.

“Good morning,” Eskel said, wrapping an arm around Julian’s middle and kissing his hair once he was within reach, “did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Julian mumbled, blushing. He didn’t think he’d been expecting this sort of attention that he certainly hadn’t ever gotten before, and although he was embarrassed, he couldn’t quite silence the small part of his brain that was enjoying it.

“That’s good,” Eskel hummed, “would you like anything in particular for breakfast?”

“No, anything is fine.”

“Ok, would omelet be alright?” he asked, and Julian nodded.

“Do you… uh… need help?” Julian asked after a few moments, unsure of what he should do.

“No, it’s fine, thank you. You can sit down, or get some coffee if you want to,” Eskel said, pointing to the Nespresso machine on his right, “the mugs and sugar are in that cupboard above, and there’s milk in the fridge.”

Julian thanked him, pleased that he was allowed coffee. He knew some caregivers didn’t allow their littles to have it, and while he mostly understood not being allowed to smoke or have alcohol, he really couldn’t see the point of not being allowed caffeine.

After fixing himself a mug, he sat down at the table, and soon Geralt came in as well, greeting him in much the same way that the other Witcher had. 

“No more than two mugs a day, alright?” Geralt asked, noticing his coffee. Julian nodded, he didn’t usually drink more than that, anyways. 

Shortly after, Eskel set down their plates, and this time he was the one to ask Julian if he needed help.

“No, thank you,” he said, only a little exasperated.

After breakfast, which he finished, unlike the previous night’s dinner, Julian stood around awkwardly as the other men began cleaning up.

“Uh… should I help?” he asked awkwardly.

“No. Don’t worry about chores or cleaning up, you don’t have to do any of that, actually. Just try to keep your room tidy, and pick up after yourself when you play,” Geralt said, and Julian looked around awkwardly when he mentioned playing.

“We thought we’d go shopping in a few days and let you get settled first,” he continued, “you can go to the library, if you want, or you can go play.”

“I don’t really… umm… do _that_ ,” Julian trailed off awkwardly.

“Have you ever tried it?” Geralt asked, turning to face him and raising a brow.

Julian shook his head, Geralt had figured as much. His file said that whenever he’d been introduced to other littles and they were told they could play, Julian never engaged, choosing instead to wait on his own, sometimes on his phone, until the session ended.

“Well, I think you should,” Eskel spoke next, “you might actually enjoy it, and I told you, no one is going to tease you about it here. Despite what you might have been told, this is all very normal, and nothing to be ashamed of.”

The boy looked anywhere but at the two men, trying to think of a way to get out of this conversation. It wasn’t normal, he told himself. _He_ wasn’t normal. He was an adult, he was supposed to act like one.

“Little one,” Geralt sighed, crouching down in front of Julian’s chair and taking his hands, “look at me?” he asked, and the younger man reluctantly obeyed.

“I know things are difficult and confusing right now, and you’re probably not sure of what’s going on,” he continued, “and I know what you think and what you’ve been told about being little, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s all part of who you are, whether you know it or not, and you’re such a wonderful boy. We’re not going to force you into it, but I’m sure your little side must have felt tempting at times, and what we’re trying to tell you is that it’s ok to explore it and that it might make you feel better once you do that. You don’t have to like everything, but you can’t really know until you give it a try.”

Julian nodded slowly, unsure of what else to do. He kind of understood what Geralt was saying, but he still had very big reservations about doing it. Although… what did he have to lose, even? His dignity? He scoffed internally, he thought he’d lost that one the moment he’d been classified. The Witchers did seem trustworthy, after all, and he’d always thought that giving in to the small temptation that was constantly lingering in his mind would make him feel worse about himself, but _maybe_ …?

Geralt stood up, smiling at him and cupping the side of his face with one hand, stroking a thumb over his cheek. It felt… _nice_ , really, in a really strange way that he hadn’t experienced before, like a warm sensation in his chest.

“Ok… I’ll… I guess I’ll try,” he agreed, tentatively, and both his caregivers smiled.

He returned to his room a few minutes later, noticing that his bed had been made and that the bear had been placed on top of the bedsheets right where he’d left it. He looked around for a bit before going over to the bookshelf, kneeling in front of so that he could be at eye level with the toys. He gave everything a once – over again, his eyes lingering on the three puzzles stacked together in a corner. Julian remembered that he’d enjoyed puzzles as a child whenever he had the chance to do them, and, asides from that, he knew that there were plenty of adults who liked doing them, too.

So, he pulled out the three boxes, spreading them out and examining them. Each of them had 200 pieces, and they would depict cartoon – like images when finished: a jungle with animals, a bunch of different types of dogs, and a portion of a street depicting a few shop displays. He looked at them for a few moments before picking out the one with the dogs.

After putting the other two puzzles back where he’d found them, Julian went over to the little table next to bookshelf, pulling out one of the cushions underneath and sitting down on it cross legged before opening the box and dumping all of the pieces in front of him. He began by separating the edges from the center pieces, and then he started linking them together. He couldn’t remember how much time had passed since he’d last done a puzzle, or since he’d played with anything so… _freely_ , and he discovered, much to his surprise, that he actually liked it.

It took him about 20 minutes to finish the puzzle, and when he was done, he stopped to look at it for a few moments. He had made this, and it had been… _fun_ , really, which had been unexpected. He hadn’t felt silly or weird like he had imagined he would, but instead he’d been relaxed, actually, calm.

He looked around once more, his eyes stopping on the huge box of crayons that had been left onto the table. He looked at it for a moment before returning to the bookshelf, were he began to browse through the stack of coloring books. 

There were about 5 or 6 of them, depicting things like animals, houses and flowers. He picked out the one with flowers, leafing through it until he found a photo of a bouquet that he liked. 

Julian then returned to the table, sitting down on his cushion and setting the book in front of him next to the puzzle he’d done earlier before picking up the box of crayons and setting it down next to him on the floor. He didn’t think he’d ever seen so many crayons before. As a child, he’d usually had those boxes that had 12 or 24 of them, but this one had _two hundred_. Humming thoughtfully, he picked out a sparkly purple and began to color in the petals of the first flower. He wasn’t sure whether they were purple in real life, although he was sure they weren’t sparkly, but he didn’t really think it mattered all that much, either way. 

Next, he picked up a bright red for a rose, then pink and blue, and green for the leaves, and before he knew it, he’d finished the page. He stopped to look at it for a few seconds, deciding that coloring had been kind of enjoyable as well, before leafing through the book again to find another page that he liked.

He was halfway through his second page when a knock came at the door, and Geralt came into the room. Julian dropped his crayon and ducked his head, still afraid that he was going to be ridiculed.

“Hey there,” the man said softly, walking into the room and kneeling next to Julian, setting a hand on his back, “have you been having fun?” he asked.

Julian nodded, blushing, but Geralt’s soft tone and the hand rubbing small circles on his back made him look up slightly, realizing that he wasn’t going to be made fun of.

“And what have you been doing, hmm? Coloring and puzzles?” Julian nodded again, a bit more at ease but still embarrassed.

“That’s very good,” Geralt continued, “and I also came to tell you that lunch is going to be ready in about 15 minutes, so you probably have time to finish your page.”

“Thank you,” Julian said, wondering when the time had flown by. He’d spent the whole morning just… _playing_.

The older man leaned over to peck his temple, standing up and smiling softly down at him for a moment before leaving the room.

Julian took a deep breath, having been put at ease by the fact that his new caregivers (or at least one of them, although he was sure Eskel wasn’t going to be much different) were true to their word and didn’t tease him for… being little, he supposed, although he still had reservations about calling it that and fully giving into his temptations. Shaking his head, he picked up the crayon he’d dropped earlier, returning his attention to the flowers in front of him.

Meanwhile, Geralt climbed down the stairs, a smile still on his face, and went into the living room, sitting down on the couch next to Eskel and laying his head on his shoulder, letting out a pleased sigh.

“How was it?” 

“He was playing,” Geralt answered.

“Yeah?” the other Witcher asked, surprised but definitely happy, turning his head to look at him.

“Yeah. He was coloring, and he’d made a puzzle. It was still on the table.”

Eskel’s smile broadened at that, and Geralt continued.

“He did seem a bit worried when I came in, but I think he calmed down a little when I told him it was good that he was playing.”

The two men continued to talk (or gush) Julian for a few minutes, before an alarm went off on Geralt’s phone.

“That’s the lasagna,” he said, standing up.

“I’ll go get Julian,” Eskel said, standing up as well and climbing up the stairs. He reached the boy’s room, knocking on the door and pushing it forwards.

“Lunch is ready,” he said, noticing the boy was just finishing coloring the last little leaf of his drawing. “That’s very nice,” he said, referring to the picture, moving closer and looking down at Julian, “did you have fun?” he asked.

Julian nodded, and Eskel extended his hand, which the boy accepted reluctantly.

“Come on, it’s time to eat now, and you can play more later,” he said, leading Julian towards the kitchen.

Julian followed along, and they entered the kitchen just as Geralt was setting down plates of lasagna, which he thought looked very inviting. One of the definite upsides of choosing to live here, Julian thought, was that his caregivers were good at cooking. Even though this was only his third meal here, and he hadn’t even started yet, he could already tell that both of the Witchers could cook pretty well.

They sat down at the table and began eating. The food was just as good, if not better than Julian anticipated, and he finished it all, which he rarely managed to do for meals other than breakfast, both because that was the first meal of the day and typically his favorite.

Halfway through the meal, he must have smeared a bit of sauce on his face without realizing, because a moment later Eskel was gently wiping at his cheek with a napkin. 

He’d blushed beet red at that, mumbling out a sorry and looking down at his plate.

“It’s ok,” the older man had said, patting his head.

After lunch, Julian was offered brownies for desert, which he readily accepted. He loved sweets, and fudgy brownies happened to be, in his opinion, probably the best dessert ever invented, and Eskel’s had to be some of the best ones he’d ever tried. He made sure to tell him as much, having grown a little bit more comfortable in the presence of the two men.

“Thank you,” Eskel had said, stroking his hair again, “I can make them more often, and you can help, if you’d like.”

Julian had nodded at that, while he knew how to cook decently enough, he’d never had the chance to bake before, and he’d always wanted to try it.

Now, he was back in his room, laying on his bed with Macbeth opened up in front of him, only half paying attention to the lines and still thinking about his new living arrangement. It was his favorite Shakespeare play, and he’d read it four or five times already, so it wasn’t like he was missing out on the details. It was one of the few books that he’d actually bought in physical format, both because he couldn’t really afford it, having usually had to either borrow them from the library or to download the PDFs, and because during the period between the end of term, which had been almost two months ago, and now, social services had made him move around a lot, so it was inconvenient for him to have a lot of belongings.

Julian spent the rest of the afternoon re – reading Macbeth and just… _processing_ everything that was going on. In the end he did manage to feel more at ease, now that he knew his new caregivers meant it when they said that they weren’t going to ridicule him for… being little, he supposed, and even though he still felt insecure, ant there were still things that he thought were silly or that he didn’t want to do, he resolved to try out some stuff, like he’d done in the morning. Playing had been soothing, in a way, it had made him feel at ease, in a way that he didn’t think he’d ever experienced before.

A few hours later, someone knocked at his door again, and Eskel came in. 

“Hello, little mouse, what are you reading?” he asked, noticing the book in Julian’s hands.

“Macbeth,” he said, his cheeks coloring slightly upon hearing the nickname.

“Mm, that’s nice. My favorite’s Hamlet,” Eskel said, sitting down on the edge of the bed near the younger man’s feet.

“I like Hamlet a lot,” Julian said, sitting up and crossing his legs, “but I like Macbeth the most. I don’t really like A Midsummer Night’s Dream that much, though, it’s kind of… I don’t know, much too romantic.”

“Mhm,” Eskel hummed in agreement, reaching out to place a hand on his calf, gently rubbing circles with his thumb.

“Did you like playing today?” he asked, a few moments later.

“I… uh… yeah,” Julian answered, “it was kind of nice, I think I’ll maybe try again?”

“That’s very good,” the older man praised, moving his hand lower and trailing a circle with his finger on the sole of Julian’s socked foot, which earned him a giggle from the boy.

The Witcher smiled softly, already noticing that the younger man was beginning to be somewhat more at ease around them, but he still had a long way to go.

A minute later, Geralt appeared at the door, leaning against the still open doorway and smiling gently at the sight of the two other men before entering the room as well. He went over to the bed, reaching out to run his fingers through Julian’s hair and meeting Eskel’s fond gaze.

“What would you like us to make for dinner?” he asked, a few moments later, and Julian shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said, “anything’s fine.”

“Hmm,” Geralt grunted. He did do that kind of a lot, Julian realized.

After agreeing on Caesar salad for dinner, the two men left Julian to his own devices, telling him once again that he was free to spend time in the library or living room if he wanted to. The younger man still didn’t think he was ready to be leaving the newly discovered safety of his bedroom just yet, but he still appreciated the offer.

Once he was left alone, Julian leafed through a few more pages of his book before setting it down, sighing. He scanned the room, looking for something else he could do until dinner, which would be in about half an hour. He spotted the coloring book that was still laying on the table, picking it up and browsing through it again. It had been fun, after all, and he _was_ kind of bored. 

He set it down a moment later though, remembering that he had other coloring books, as well. He picked up one with animals, leafing through it for a bit before settling on a picture of a tabby cat. 

About 30 minutes later, Julian had just finished coloring the cat’s collar with a light pink when Geralt knocked on the door, telling him that dinner was ready. Julian followed the older man downstairs, who, just like Eskel had done the previous night, took his hand and led him into the kitchen. He didn’t even realize when the time had flown by, but one thing that he’d discovered today was that coloring was definitely something he enjoyed.

“Do you need help?” Geralt asked again, setting down a bowl of salad in front of him.

“ _No!_ ” Julian snapped, annoyed at the fact that he was being treated like a baby, “No, I don’t need help, I can do it by myself,” he continued, huffing.

Geralt levelled the little with an unimpressed glare, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Mind your tone, little boy,” he said, “do you need to spend some time in the corner thinking about manners?” 

“I… _no_ ,” Julian said, blushing as he realized what he’d done, “I’m sorry,” he continued in a small voice, looking down at his lap.

Geralt sighed, sitting down on the chair next to him and reaching out to grasp the boy’s chin, gently tilting his head towards him. “It’s ok,” he said, “I know it’s frustrating, but we just want to help you.”

“I… I know,” Julian said, “and I appreciate it, but I don’t think I need help with… with eating.”

“Alright,” Geralt said, patting his head, “you know you can always tell us if you do change your mind.”

Julian nodded at that, even though he knew it was unlikely. Soon, dinner was finished, and he headed back upstairs, sitting down on the armchair and absentmindedly scrolling through his phone. Today had been… strange, to say the least, but not unpleasant, although he could have done without Geralt’s reprimand.

He sighed, continuing to look through his phone for some time before realizing it was already close to 9:30. Julian stood up, plugging in his phone and going to the closet to take out his pyjamas before heading into the bathroom to take a bath. He poked around the cabinets, finding out that aside from the shower gel he’d used yesterday, they were fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner and even bath bombs. 

Julian picked out a purple star shaped bath bomb that smelled of blueberries and started filling the tub with warm water, dropping it in. He watched the colors swirl around for a few moments before stripping of his clothes and getting into the bath. He leaned back, taking a few deep breaths before beginning to wash his hair.

Afterwards, he wrapped himself up in one of the large, soft towels stacked in a cabinet before getting dressed into his pyjamas and picking out another, smaller towel to dry his hair in. He returned to the bedroom, and a few minutes later Eskel popped his head into the room once again.

“Do you need a blow-dryer?” he asked, after taking a look at him and noticing that he was kind of struggling with the towel.

“If you have one,” Julian said, and the older man nodded, leaving. He returned almost immediately, blow-drier in hand, and told Julian to sit down on the bed.

The boy did as he was told, and a moment later Eskel began drying his still damp hair. It felt nice, Julian realized, and warm air blowing around his head paired with the soft touch of Eskel’s fingers carding through his hair was making him more than a little sleepy.

Less than 10 minutes later, Eskel had finished drying the younger man’s hair, and he gently maneuvered him to lay down before placing the bear in his arms and tucking the blankets around him. He disappeared for a moment, returning with Geralt in tow. Just like the previous night, they both leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“Goodnight, my little one,” Geralt said softly as Julian snuggled closer to his bear, burrowing deeper into the blankets, and before long he was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is another chapter. I've had a super hectic week and I'm really glad it's over.
> 
> This one has quite a lot of Eskel because I love him a lot and I really don't think he's represented enough. There's also discussion of punishments, as well as very mild (one smack) spanking, so if this isn't your thing, you've been warned.
> 
> As always, reviews and suggestions are appreciated and idk when the next chapter is going to be because, again, another hectic week follows. Enjoy!

The next day was spent much like the previous one, with Julian (not as reluctantly as before) doing puzzles and coloring in the morning, and actually gathering up the courage to venture into the library in the afternoon. The collection of books in there was even larger than it had seemed at first glance, and Julian was absolutely delighted with it. He’d ended up spending the whole afternoon as well as two more hours after dinner in there, until Geralt came in at around 9:30 to remind him that it would be time for bed soon. He begrudgingly agreed to leave the room, once again being reassured that he could spend time in there whenever he wanted to. 

Afterwards, the bedtime ‘routine’ they’d gotten into the nights before was repeated, but Julian didn’t fall asleep as quickly as he had in the first two nights. Instead, he lay awake a little longer, staring at the starry patter his nightlight reflected onto the ceiling and gently stroking trough his stuffed bear’s fur. Living here wouldn’t be bad at all, he realized, for the first time fully focusing on the matter. The Witchers were _nice_ , they were kind and they treated him well, and being little didn’t seem to be as bad as he had thought it would be. Sure, it was still weird sometimes, but he was encouraged to do things at his own pace, which he was grateful for. He realized, as tears started to blur his vision, that during these two days, a pair of what had essentially been strangers had treated him better and paid more attention to him than his family ever had. Julian closed his eyes, trying to breathe deeply, but he couldn’t quite escape the onslaught of tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes now, so he turned over, hugging the bear tightly to his chest and burying his face into his soft body. Soon, he fell asleep, still crying but feeling as if an unknown, inexplicable weight had suddenly been lifted from his chest.

When he woke up the next morning, Julian felt oddly… calm, in a way, at ease. He went to the bathroom, then got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t shirt. They were supposed to be going shopping today, as his caregivers had informed him the day before.

“You really don’t need to get me anything,” Julian had protested, futilely, for about the fifth time.

“Yes, we do,” Geralt had said, unrelentingly, “you’re our responsibility now, Julian, it’s our job to provide for you. Besides that, we want to, and money isn’t a problem at all.”

“I know it isn’t about money,” Julian had said, and it was true, Witchers were paid incredibly well, and he knew Eskel and Geralt weren’t stingy, judging by the large amount of money they had obviously already spent for his room and toys, “but I just… don’t want to be a burden, and what if… what if I’m not even _staying_?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Geralt had said, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close where they were sitting on the couch, “you’re not a burden at all, and _do you_ think you’d like to stay?” he asked, looking down at him.

Julian nodded shyly, looking up at him with wide, cornflower blue eyes, and Geralt could sense the insecurity and worry coming off of him.

“Then you’ll stay,” he said, “there’s _nothing_ we’d like more than to have you here with us, permanently.”

That definitely took Julian by surprise. He knew that the two men had taken him in because they wanted a little, but he didn’t think they could get… _attached_ so quickly, especially not to someone like him, but then again, Julian hadn’t thought that he’d get attached, either, and here he was, already having decided that he’d like to stay.

After getting dressed, Julian climbed down the stairs, going to the kitchen where he immediately noticed his two caregivers sitting close together and talking about something, frowning. They did notice him almost immediately though, waving him over.

“Good morning, little one,” Geralt said, motioning for him to sit down. Julian did as he was told, glancing between the two men.

“Something came up at Kaer Morhen today, and one of us needs to go to a meeting about some new contract” Geralt said, directly, and it was Julian’s turn to frown.

“Kaer Morhen is the Witchers’ headquarters,” Eskel said, noticing his confusion, “and we have meetings there every once in a while. We wanted to ask you if you’d be ok with going shopping just with me, or if you’d like us to go another day.”

“We could go today, if you still want to?” Julian trailed off, unsure of what he should answer.

“Yes, of course,” Eskel said, and Geralt nodded as well.

“Are you going to… uh… leave for a contact?” Julian asked a few minutes later, when the older men had started making breakfast. 

“No, not for this one,” Geralt answered, “contracts can take even up to a week sometimes, and this one might, since they think it’s a vurdalak, and we don’t want to leave for that long when you’ve only just gotten here. The others know that, though, and they’re more than capable of handling it.”

“Others…?” Julian asked.

“There’s five other Witchers at Kaer Morhen besides us,” the older man said, “and they would like to meet you sometime, but we thought we should wait until you settle in a bit more. One of them is also a little, by the way.”

Julian raised his brown at that but didn’t say anything. He hadn’t ever heard of a Witcher who was also a little, so he was a bit surprised.

Soon, a plate of eggs benedict, which just so happened to be his favorites, was placed down in front of him, and after they were done Eskel instructed him to go and put on his shoes.

Afterwards, the man led him to the garage, which held a black Porsche Cayenne that must have been Geralt’s and another sleek black Jaguar that they got into. Julian was only moderately surprised at this point, since he now had a better idea of how much money the Witchers actually made.

Eskel started the car, and 15 minutes later they were parked in front of a mall.

“Is there anywhere you’d like to go first?” the older man asked, taking Julian’s hand in his as they were nearing the building’s entrance.

“No,” he said, and Eskel nodded, steering them towards the clothing stores first. About two hours later, Julian was waiting for Eskel on a bench as the man had gone to the car for a second time to leave their bags. Well, Julian’s bags, really, because the majority of what they’d bought had been for him. Although he had protested at first, especially since Eskel had taken him to the more expensive stores like GAP and Tommy Hilfiger, where Julian had only ever shopped during sales before, he soon realized it was pointless to try and argue with his caregiver, since the man was intent on getting him a new wardrobe. Aside from that, Julian also did genuinely like shopping for clothes, so after his initial reluctance at receiving so many new things had worn off, he’d actually started enjoying picking out clothes, which Eskel was obviously very pleased about.

Now they had finished shopping for regular clothes, and Eskel had suggested they try some shops that were especially meant for littles. Julian had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, because while his disdain about being little had significantly dimished during these past few days, he did still have some reservations about it.  
Soon, Eskel returned form the car, smiling at him and offering his hand again, which Julian took.

“Come on, little mouse,” he said.

That had become one of his nicknames for him, although Julian didn’t mind as much as he thought he would.

“Well, because you’re small, and you’re still a bit scared, too, but you’re also very adorable, just like a little mouse,” Eskel had said when Julian had asked about it, and it had caused the boy to blush while also spreading that warm, comforting feeling ins his chest that he’d grown somewhat used to experiencing since he began living here.

Soon, they reached the part of the mall that was dedicated to littles, where shop displays were significantly more lively and colorful than before. They entered a clothing store first, and Julian looked up at Eskel, confused.

“We didn’t get any pyjamas, remember? And I also thought you might like to pick out some more clothes to wear around the house,” Eskel explained, noticing his little’s confusion. 

Julian nodded at that, and they began browsing around. Soon, they’d picked out a multitude of soft clothes; colorful t shirts and soft, patterned sweatshirts and sweaters, as well as sweatpants, shorts, underwear and patterned socks. Afterwards, they headed over to the pyjamas section, where they picked out a couple of sets before something colorful on a rack caught Julian’s attention. He let go of Eskel’s hand (which he was allowed to do – _“if you stay where I can see you or you tell me if you’re going somewhere else”_ – the older man had said) and wandered over to investigate.

Julian discovered that the display that had caught his attention was full of colorful, vividly patterned drop seat footed pyjamas. He picked one up, dark blue and with little rubber ducklings printed all over it, and ran his hand along the soft fabric.

“Would you like some of these?” Eskel asked, coming over to take a look at what Julian had found.

“Yes, please,” he said, blushing only slightly.

_‘Some of these’_ turned out to be about 10 pairs, because Julian couldn’t choose and Eskel had no self-preservation, especially when he was imagining how adorable the boy would look wearing them.

He paid for Julian’s clothing, which had ended up being another five bags – though he didn’t mind in the slightest – before they headed over to a toy store.  
“You can pick out whatever you like,” he reminded him gently, nudging him.

Although Julian had gotten over his initial reluctance at having things bought for him, he was still more hesitant than he’d been in other stores. Eskel watched him wander over to the puzzles aisle, following close behind him.

“Daddy? Could I get more puzzles?” he asked carefully, not quite meeting his gaze.

“Of course, sweetheart, get as many as you like,” Eskel answered, taken aback, although he was certain it didn’t show. This was the first time the boy had referred to him or Geralt as such, and he couldn’t deny the warmth that spread through his chest upon hearing it.

Julian spent a few minutes looking at the display of puzzles before picking out three boxes. Next, they went over to the section that held things such as toy cars and trucks. Eskel was a bit surprised by this, since he hadn’t really thought that Julian would enjoy these kinds of toys very much. He had been somewhat right, he supposed, because what had actually caught the boy’s attention was a train set with rails that you could link together in different ways.

At the end, they went to the stuffed toys, where Julian had spent a few minutes marveling at all the different types of toys you could get and how soft they all looked before picking out a fluffy, light brown rabbit and a dark blue octopus.

Eskel paid for the toys as well and they returned to the car, noticing it was already past 2:30, which was way later than they usually ate lunch.

“How about we go eat out today, hm?” he asked starting the car.

“Yes please,” Julian said from the passenger seat on his right. Eskel knew there were caregivers who didn’t allow their littles to sit in the front seat or who made them sit in a car seat, though neither him nor Geralt really understood the logic behind that, and they’d actually agreed they’d even let Julian get his own license if he wanted to. They didn’t really understand people who didn’t let their littles do anything besides _be little_ , either, and they knew Julian had been afraid that they wouldn’t let him go to college. That was the furthest thing from the truth, actually. While they certainly wouldn’t have forced him to attend had he not wanted to, they would have definitely encouraged it. Their brother Lambert was a little _and_ a Witcher, after all, so there was no reason for Julian to be unable to be a little and a college student, or anything else that he wanted to be.

About 10 minutes later, they had parked in front of an Italian restaurant that he and Geralt liked and where they ate sometimes. They went inside, where Eskel ordered beef ragù and Julian ordered Carbonara, which was probably his favorite dish, Eskel learned. For desert, he let Julian have cannoli, and about 30 minutes later they headed home.

When they reached the house, Geralt still hadn’t gotten back from Kaer Morhen, and Julian was more than a little worn out. Eskel suggested he take a nap, and that they unpack and sort out their shopping when he wakes up.

The boy did as he was told, going upstairs and taking off his jeans before snuggling under the covers with his stuffed bear. He awoke some time later to the feel of someone gently carding broad fingers through his hair. He turned, blinking slowly and meeting Geralt’s golden gaze above him.

“Hello, little one,” he said gently as he continued stroking his hair.

Julian let out a yawn, stretching his neck and blinking again.

“Did you have fun today?” the Witcher asked, and Julian nodded, sitting up cross legged before moving to stand up.

“Yeah, and now I have to – oh, _shit_!” Julian exclaimed as he was getting out of bed, noticing that he was still only wearing his underwear and t shirt.

“Language, young man!” Geralt scolded, delivering a firm smack to the boy’s unprotected backside. Julian yelped, hands flying back to protect his bottom.

“ _Oww_ ,” he said, angling himself so that his bottom was no longer within Geralt’s immediate reach.

“What have I said about cursing, Julian?” the older man asked.

“I’m not supposed to,” he answered, “sorry, papa. I just… forgot I wasn’t dressed.”

Geralt’s frown lessened when he heard the boy calling him that. He knew that he’d called Eskel ‘daddy’ today, his husband had been gushing about it ever since he got home, and he was kind of expecting to be called ‘papa’ soon, but it still took him by surprise.

“It’s ok,” Geralt said, sighing, “just be more careful from now on, I don’t want to hear such language from you again, little boy. And there’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he continued, noticing that the boy was eying the pants that he’d left on the armchair.

“Don’t say that!” Julian whined, blushing, and Geralt chuckled, reaching for the pants and tossing them to him. The older man waited for Julian to get dressed before speaking again. 

“Do you need help with putting your clothes away?” he asked, pointing to the mountain of bags that Eskel must have placed next to his closet while he was sleeping.

“I… yes please,” he said, and Geralt nodded. They began unpacking and folding the clothing, and Julian didn’t miss Geralt’s delighted look when he saw the footed pyjamas. He blushed at it, but didn’t say anything, stacking them into the closet next to his underwear.

Soon, the only bag left was the one of toys, and Julian could tell that Geralt was definitely pleased that he’d picked out some. They unpacked those, too, and Geralt helped the younger man (who was only mildly embarrassed because of the fact that he’d picked out toys to play with) place them on the bookshelf. 

Then, they began cleaning up the wrappers and bags the shopping had been in, and a few moments later Eskel appeared in the doorway. 

“Dinner’s almost ready. Here, let me take that,” he said, taking the empty bags Julian had been holding and going to throw them away.

They all headed downstairs, and Julian sat down at the table, pulling out his phone and starting scrolling through it for the lack of anything better to do. Soon, a plate of food was placed down in front of him, but he’d been so captivated with his phone that he almost didn’t notice it. 

“No phone at the table,” Eskel said, patting his wrist.

Julian huffed, looking ready to roll his eyes as he locked the phone and pocketed it. The older man raised a brow at that, meeting Geralt’s gaze across the table. The other man frowned for a moment, although neither of them said anything.

About 20 minutes later, dinner was finished, and Julian went back upstairs, leaving the two other men alone in the kitchen.

“Do you think he’s starting to test boundaries?” Eskel asked Geralt from his place at the sink, scrubbing at a plate.

“It’s possible,” Geralt agreed, “I did smack his bottom earlier,” he said, and the other Witcher turned his head to look at him, raising a brow.

“He cursed,” Geralt explained, “he said ‘shit’, I think, and I gave him one smack. He apologized after, though, and called me ‘papa’,” he continued, and Eskel smiled softly at the end.

“I’m really glad he’s warming up to us,” Eskel said, “in all seriousness though, I don’t want to give him an actual spanking, especially not so soon. Preferably never, actually.”

“I know,” Geralt said, drying the dishes Eskel was handing to him before putting them back in their place, “and neither do I, but we might have to. I think we can try putting him in the corner first if he misbehaves and it’s not so serious, to see how he reacts.”

“Mhm, yeah, I think so, but let’s worry about it when we get there,” Eskel said, turning off the tap and turning around to face Geralt, wrapping his arms around his middle and setting his head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Geralt said, hugging him back and nudging him to turn his head, kissing him softly on the lips.

Meanwhile, Julian had returned to his room, sitting down on the armchair and opening one of the books that he’d taken from the library downstairs. He began rocking slowly, continuing to read for almost two hours before a knock came at the door. 

“It’s almost time for bed,” Eskel said, popping his head into the room. 

The younger man huffed, rolling his eyes before closing the book and placing it back on the bookshelf.

Eskel frowned, looking sternly down at him for a moment. “I know you’re probably tired, or frustrated, but it’s not an excuse for you to be acting rudely, do you understand?”

“I… yeah,” Julian said after a moment, though Eskel had the feeling that he was only saying it so he would be left alone.

“Hmm,” he grunted in a very Geralt – like manner, leaving the room after taking one last look at the boy who was now rummaging through the closet.

He headed for their bedroom, collapsing into the armchair in the corner once he’d entered the room. Eskel sighed, running a hand through his hair before resting his forehead on his palm.

“What is it?” Geralt asked, looking up from his phone from where he was sitting in bed, propped up against the headboard.

“Nothing, just… I really do think he’s starting to test boundaries now,” he said, before telling Geralt about the way Julian had behaved earlier.

Geralt frowned, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose we might have to hand out a punishment sooner than expected if he keeps this up,” he said, and the other WItcher agreed, sullenly.

About 15 minutes later, they left their bedroom, going to Julian’s room so they could say goodnight. When they entered, they noticed the boy was sitting cross legged on his bed, with his bear on his lap as he was looking down at his phone. He was dressed in one of the footed pyjamas they’d bought earlier that day, and he looked absolutely adorable. The two Witchers looked at one another for a second, sharing a fond look before Geralt spoke.

“Come on, time for bed,” he said, and Julian locked his phone, placing it on the nightstand next to him before allowing Geralt to tuck the blankets around him.

“Goodnight, little one,” he said, kissing his temple before allowing Eskel to step into his place and do the same.

“Good night, Julian, sleep well,” he said, after stroking his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

“Good night,” Julian replied, and despite his initial intention to stay up later, he found his eyelids growing heavy, and before long he was asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Sorry it may have been a little while since I posted the last chapter, but I think I've said that college is kinda draining, so I generally may not be able to update as often as I did for the first few chapters from now on (well, after the winter holidays that is, because I'll get a break in a week and a half and I may be able to post more then).
> 
> Also, similarly to this, chapters may be a bit shorter from now on (this one was about 2k words, which is about half or 2/3 of the size of previous chapters) because I feel like these first few chapters have been sort of world-building, which is why they were longer. I also had a bit of a writer's block this chapter, because this was sort of a filler but it also has an important bit, so I hope writing the next one will go smoother.
> 
> Still, I love this story and I'll try to write and update as much and as often as I can, as I've still got a lot of ideas and plenty of chances to explore them from now on. If you guys have any ideas as well, please let me know <3
> 
> Lastly, I just wanted to say sorry for the super long note and for not properly writing the first meeting between Julian and the other Witchers, who will be featured more later on. 
> 
> Beware, there's going to be cuddling and fluff, you've been warned.

The next few weeks were spent in very much the same fashion, with Julian gradually warming up to his new caregivers. Things went by without a hitch, mostly, except for the few times when he’d been popped on the bottom for cursing and the time he’d had to spend 5 minutes standing in the corner for being impolite. Julian didn’t think he’d ever felt as embarrassed as he had when he finished his time out and had to stand in front of Eskel and apologize for being rude to him, all under Geralt’s strict scrutiny. The comfort he’d gotten afterwards had almost made up for it though, his daddy sitting him on his knee and hugging him close, letting the younger man cuddle close to his chest. Julian, only very mildly embarrassed by it at this point, discovered that he very much liked to… _cuddle_ … with his caregivers, he supposed, although he could have very much done without the punishment (and promise of a spanking – _“if you ever behave so disrespectfully again”_ – as Geralt had said) preceding it. Still, whereas he was not yet comfortable enough to ask to be cuddled, Julian found out that sitting down on the couch close to his caregivers was enough to make the older men wrap an arm around him and pull him close to their sides or sometimes on their laps, and he was fairly certain Geralt and Eskel knew that this was what he wanted whenever he did it.

During this time, Julian was also introduced to the four other Witchers of Kaer Morhen, and he was surprised by how genuinely… _nice_ they’d all been. Out of the two older men, Rennes was a bit more… reserved, he supposed, but not in a bad way, and he was still polite and kind to him. Vesemir was more attentive, and Julian attributed that to the fact that he, too, had his own little, Lambert, who was also a Witcher. Although Julian had been a little bit intimidated at first, he discovered he did like Lambert, who was very outgoing, though perhaps a bit loud sometimes. He made him feel a lot better about his own status as a little, because although he didn’t say anything, Julian was impressed by how Lambert was treated both as a little and as his own person, and, when he reflected upon it, he realized this was exactly how his own caregivers treated him, too, and it made him feel content and grateful that he’d somehow been lucky enough to end up with Geralt and Eskel. The fourth Witcher, Aiden, was of about the same age with Lambert and his caregivers (which, Julian learned, was not as young as one might have imagined). Aiden was also nice, although a lot quieter than Lambert, but he made Julian feel welcome and at ease, too.

Now, Geralt and Eskel had both gone to Kaer Morhen for another meeting, and Julian was left on his own for a couple of hours. It was the first time both of them had left home at the same time since the younger man had gotten there, and Julian could tell that they had been a bit reluctant to do so, even though he promised he’d call them if anything happened.

Julian turned off the TV that he’d been watching for the last couple of hours. He looked around the living room for a few moments, trying to come up with something else he could do. He noticed that the space between the couch and the entrance to the kitchen was quite large, covered by a soft, fluffy carpet. It was very well lit, too, being situated right in front of the terrace door, which was made entirely of glass. Humming, he continued to look at the space for a few seconds before dashing up the stairs. He entered his room, picking up one of the storage boxes from his bookshelf before hurrying downstairs again.

Ever since he’d begun playing more often, his daddies had told him on a few occasions that he could come play in the living room, or even in the library if he wanted to. While Julian was no longer so insecure and ashamed of being little, there were still things he was not yet ready for, and playing in front of someone else was one of them. But now, he found himself alone, and the empty living room space covered by the big, fluffy carpet seemed _very_ inviting. 

Sitting down on the carpet, Julian opened the box and emptied its contents onto the floor in front of him. It had been full of colorful wooden blocks, which the boy had discovered he enjoyed playing with. Soon, he started arranging them into towers and other structures, disassembling them and creating new ones every 10 minutes or so. He giggled softly, he _was_ actually having fun.

Julian had been playing with his blocks for about 40 minutes when he heard some noise from the front door. Startled, he looked up, noticing that his caregivers had returned. He gaped softly, unsure of what to do before he began scrambling to pick up his toys.

“Hey,” Eskel said, quietly, coming to kneel down next to the boy when he noticed his distress, “have you been playing?”

“I’m… I’m gonna clean up now,” Julian said quickly, his cheeks flushing.

“Hey, no, no it’s ok,” Eskel said, running a hand through his hair, “you can play. It’s ok, it’s very good that you playing.”

The boy paused, hesitantly.

“I… really?” Julian asked a few moments later, looking up at him.

“Yes, really,” came Geralt’s voice from somewhere behind him, and soon the other man was kneeling next to them, too. “It’s good that you’re playing, and we can go upstairs if we’re making you uncomfortable.”

“It’s _your_ house,” Julian said, unsure of what he should answer.

“And yours, now, too,” Geralt countered without missing a beat, “and we don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I – I’m not,” the younger man answered, although he wasn’t being wholly truthful. 

“Hmm, alright then,” Geralt said a few moments later, not seeming fully convinced, “we’ll just go and change then.”

The older men left, and Julian took a moment to take a deep breath. It wasn’t as if they were going to make fun of him, he told himself, he knew they would never do that. He looked back to his toys, noticing that the tower he’d been building had been knocked over in his haste to clean up. Slowly, after throwing a quick glance towards the staircase, he began picking up his blocks and stacking them together again. A few minutes later, he was completely engrossed in his game once more, and he almost didn’t notice the two older men quietly returning downstairs. They both headed into the kitchen, and Geralt reached out to pet his head as they passed him by. He looked up for a moment, noticing the fond look in the man’s golden eyes, before returning his attention to the game. 

Geralt and Eskel returned to the living room, taking quietly to one another and watching Julian play for almost an hour, until Geralt left to make lunch. The other Witcher continued watching his little boy, marveling at how easily Julian could sometimes accept himself and his little space when he was in what had quickly become a safe space. 

“Come here?” Eskel said a few minutes later, patting the spot next to him on the couch when he noticed Julian had stopped playing and was now looking around the room.

The boy looked at him for a moment before crawling over and doing as instructed. Once he’d sat down on the couch, Eskel picked him up and seated him on his lap, wrapping an arm around his middle and pressing a kiss to his temple.

Julian sighed softly, leaning back against his caregiver’s chest and tucking his head in the crook of his neck. He really, _really_ liked being cared for like this, although he may not admit it or even allow it sometimes, but he found that not thinking about it was the only way of avoiding the embarrassment that sometimes still lingered in his mind.

“Did you have fun this morning?” he asked, and Julian nodded, snuggling closer to his chest. He was comfortable now, and he didn’t really want to speak.

“That’s good,” Eskel said, rubbing his back and continuing to hold him for about 10 minutes, until Geralt called them for lunch.

Eskel stood up, Julian still in his arms, and headed for the kitchen.

“I’m heavy!” The boy protested, squirming to be let down.

“No, you’re not,” the older man said, holding him firmly against his chest and tapping his thigh with one hand to make him stop squirming, “I’m a Witcher, remember?”

Julian huffed, but didn’t say anything else. They reached the kitchen, and Eskel deposited him in a chair before sitting down next to him. Geralt set a plate of food in front of him, patting his head and running his fingers through his hair before sitting down as well. Soon, the meal was finished, and Julian decided to go lay down for a little while, realizing that he was actually a bit tired.

“Julian,” came Geralt’s voice from behind him, once he’d started heading up the stairs, “come pick up your toys if you’re done playing.”

The boy flushed, turning back and doing as instructed.

“Sorry papa,” he said, kneeling down and beginning to put the wooden blocks back in their box, “I forgot.”

“It’s ok,” Geralt answered, crouching down next to the boy and moving to help him, “what do you want to do now?” he asked a few minutes later, when they’d finished picking up the toys and were now going up the stairs.

“I want to lay down, I think,” the younger man answered as they were entering his bedroom.

Geralt hummed, moving to deposit the toy box he’d been holding under his arm back into its place on the bookshelf.

“Do you want me to tuck you in?” he asked, and Julian nodded, not meeting his gaze.

“Alright, do you want to change?” the Witcher continued.

“No, this is fine,” the boy answered, gesturing towards the soft sweatpants and shirt he was wearing. Geralt nodded, placing a hand on his back and steering him towards the bed, pulling the covers back before motioning for Julian to lay down and handing him his stuffed bear.

“Sleep well,” Geralt said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

About two hours later, Julian woke up, blinking blearily at his surroundings. He sat up and used the bathroom before quietly climbing down the stairs. 

Downstairs, Geralt and Eskel were sitting close to each other on the couch, with Geralt laying his head on his husband’s shoulder. When he heard him reaching the bottom of the stairs, the white haired man turned his head to look at Julian, beckoning him closer. Witcher hearing really was very sharp, as Julian had found out during these past few weeks; his daddies could always hear him moving about, no matter how quiet he tried to be.

Julian went over to the couch, and the two men pulled apart from one another slightly, making room in the middle from him. He sat down as instructed, snuggling close in - between them and pulling his feet up on the couch too, wrapping his arms arounds his legs and bringing his knees close to his chin.

“Did you sleep well?” Eskel asked, carding his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah,” Julian answered, leaning into the touch.

“We wanted to ask you,” Geralt began a minute later, pausing for a moment to meet Eskel’s gaze, and the other man nodded slightly, “because it’s already been a month, and social services have sent an email about it, if you think you’d like to stay here. Permanently.”

“I… yeah,” Julian said, certain in a way that would have surprised him a few weeks ago, “yeah, if you… if you _want_ me?” he asked, still not wholly reassured.

“Yes, of course we want you,” Geralt said without missing a beat, and Eskel hummed in agreemet, wrapping an arm around the boy, “there’s nothing we’d like more than to have you here with us, _permanently_.”

“I… ok,” Julian breathed out a moment later, “I wanna stay here too,” he repeated, and the older men beamed, kissing his hair and hugging him close between them.   
Julian relaxed, taking a moment to enjoy his predicament. He realized that for the first time in the last couple of years, if not for as long as he could remember, that he felt completely safe, _at home_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for not writing Julian properly meeting the other Witchers, I honestly was a bit stuck about how to go about that, and I've had a bit of tough week (sorry for complaining lol) but I promise the other Witchers are gonna be featured quite a bit later on (to be read as: two little boys getting along and getting into loads of trouble together).
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING:** there is spanking in this chapter, so if that's not you thing you can skip this chapter now
> 
> Hey guys:)
> 
> I'm very surprised that I managed to write another chapter so soon, but the idea just came to me and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. So, there's more of Geralt in this, and there's also a spanking with comfort afterwards :3 enjoy and as always let me know if you have any thoughts/ suggestions

After the final agreement that Julian was going to be living with Geralt and Eskel permanently, things started to go really smoothly. For the next couple of weeks they settled into a sort of a routine, and Julian became much more relaxed around his caregivers, to the point that Geralt even deemed it appropriate to leave for a contract, even though it had been for just one day, and Julian had overheard him and Eskel talking about it at length before finally agreeing that the younger man was settled in enough that one of them could leave the house for an extended period of time. The boy said that he didn’t mind Geralt leaving, even though he couldn’t deny the small tendril of fear coiling around in his chest. He didn’t even dare think about what it would be like if something happened to Geralt – if he didn’t return. His caregivers must have sensed his uneasiness, though, because they reassured him that Geralt would be fine – he’d killed dozens of kikimoras before. That, combined with actually seeing Geralt dressed in his full Witcher armor that looked like it couldn’t be pierced by virtually anything that Julian had ever seen, did help the boy calm down somewhat. Still, when his caregiver returned, Julian had hugged him so tightly – and he had actually been relieved, _happy_ , to see him, because even though Geralt had only been gone for one night, it had still been noticeable – in a way that would have surprised him a month and a half ago, when he first set foot in their house, afraid and apprehensive.

Aside from that, Julian had started going out more often, both with his caregivers and with his friends from college. Even though he’d protested at first, Eskel and Geralt had insisted (and gotten their way about it, too) on making him a credit card and putting money on it every month, with the promise to give him more if he ever needed it. Julian doubted that it would be necessary, taking into consideration that what his daddies had put on his card for the first month was already about three times the amount he used to make when he worked two jobs, not to mention that he never even got to use said card whenever he went out with them – _“those are for you to have when you’re out on your own, not when you’re with us,”_ Eskel had explained once, when they were out shopping once and Julian wanted to pay by himself.

Julian had also met the other Witchers a couple more times, and he’d even been taken to Kaer Morhen once – although that was more of a coincidence, that he and Geralt happened to be coming back from the dentist’s when Vesemir had called the other man, asking him if he could come over to help him with something. Despite initial expectations, Julian and Lambert were also becoming fast friends. Even though they were, at first glance, polar opposites, they also had more than a few common interests, and they got along like a house on fire, so much so that Julian had overheard Eskel talking to Vesemir about their two littles once, saying something along the lines of _“little menaces”_ and them _“getting into trouble together,”_ which the older man had wearily but completely agreed to.

Now, Julian was downstairs for breakfast. He’d been sort of… _irritated_ , ever since he woke up, and he felt as if he was going to scream if Eskel or Geralt asked if he was ok or if he needed help one more time. Julian knew, somewhere in the back of his brain, that the older men had sensed his aggravation and were only trying to help him, but the nagging little voice in his head that had been wondering about what they would do if he annoyed them just wouldn’t shut up. He perfectly remembered the discussion they’d had about punishments, as well as the time out he’d had to do a few weeks ago and the occasional swats he’d gotten on his bottom. He didn’t want a spanking, but he didn’t really know what else it was that he wanted, either. So he snapped.

Julian had noticed Eskel and Geralt quickly exchanging worried looking glances a couple of times during breakfast, while the younger man was sulkily pushing food around his plate.

“Eat your food,” Eskel said, nudging his upper arm when he noticed Julian hadn’t eaten almost anything from his plate. 

“Is anything wrong with it?” he continued when the boy didn’t answer in any way besides an annoyed huff, “are you not feeling well?” he asked again, reaching over to gently place his palm against Julian’s forehead.

“ _I’m fine_ ,” the younger man snapped, jerking away, “will you stop fucking treating me like I’m an invalid?” 

Eskel froze for a moment, frowning. “Is that any way to speak, young man?” he asked then, crossing his arms over his chest and looking sternly down at the little boy in front of him. Geralt was doing very much the same, having stopped eating and begun fixing Julian with an unimpressed look. 

“And you know very well that neither one of us thinks any less of you because you’re little,” Eskel continued a few seconds later when the boy hadn’t answered, continuing to look petulant. Julian did know that, perfectly remembering the lengthy conversation they’d had about the matter a few weeks before, however he didn’t want to think of it right now.

“Oh, fuck off,” Julian muttered, and his caregivers froze, taken aback. It was one thing for him to swear, and it wasn’t the first time he’d done it, much to their dismay, but he’d never sworn _at_ them before.

“ _Excuse me_ , little boy?” Eskel scolded, and Julain froze, realizing what he’d done.

“I… _uhhh_ …” he fumbled, looking down, not quite sure how to react.

“Alright, that’s enough young man,” Geralt spoke, standing up from his chair and moving to grasp Julian’s upper arm. He met Eskel’s gaze from across the table, and the other Witcher nodded slightly. 

“Stand up,” Geralt said, and Julian obeyed, apprehensive now that he’d realized what he’d done.

The older man led him into the living room, with a firm but not painful grip of his shoulder. Geralt sat down on the couch, taking Julian’s wrist in one of his hands and motioning for him to lay over his lap.

“Come on, over my knee,” he said, and the younger man shook his head, trying to pull away.

“No, papa, please,” he said, blushing, “I don’t want a spanking.”

“No, I didn’t imagine you would, but I’ve told you what would happen if you acted so disrespectfully again, and a sound spanking is exactly what you need to remind you to behave.” With that, Geralt tugged the younger man to bend over his knee, his upper body resting on the couch. Julian squirmed, trying to get up, but his strength was no match for a Witcher’s, and Geralt’s left arm wrapped around his waist kept him firmly in place over the man’s lap.

Suddenly, Julian felt his papa hooking his fingers in the waistband of his sweatpants and underwear, pulling them down to his knees and exposing his bottom to the room.

“No, not bare! _Papa!_ ” Julian squeaked, blushing as he tried to reach back and cover himself. Geralt tutted, grabbing his wandering hands with ease and pinning them to the small of his back with his left hand.

“Yes, bare. In this house, naughty little boys like you get spanked on their bare bottoms.”

Julian didn’t think he’d ever been more embarrassed in his life, however that started to become less important once Geralt began spanking his bottom a few seconds later. The boy knew Geralt wasn’t using his full strength, but his smacks were still painful and firm, leaving behind a long – lasting sting.

Geralt continued to spank his little boy’s backside for a few minutes, delivering stinging, painful swats and thoroughly covering every surface of his bottom, focusing his attention on his exposed sit – spots and upper thighs.

Julian soon began crying, and his kicking and attempts to get free had diminished once he realized he wouldn’t be able to escape his papa’s rigorous punishment.

“I’m _very_ disappointed in you, young man,” Geralt began lecturing once the boy began to stop fighting his punishment so hard, “you know better than to behave so rudely, especially to your daddy and I. If you ever do something so naughty again you can expect to end up right back over mine or daddy’s knee getting your little bottom spanked, and we won’t be so lenient next time, is that understood?”

“Yes, yes papa! Sorry!” Julian cried, and he _was_ sorry now. He never, _ever_ wanted to get another spanking again, especially if this was considered lenient.

Geralt continued the spanking for another minute, stopping once the younger man began to wail. He let him cry over his knee for a few moments, rubbing his lower back with one hand and gently patting his bottom with the other, feeling the head radiating off of it. 

Slowly, he stood Julian up, mindful of his smarting bottom as he replaced his clothing, before guiding him to sit down on his lap. Julian allowed his papa to sit him on his knee, throwing his arms around the older man and crying into his shoulder.

“Shh, it’s ok,” Geralt said, rocking his little boy back and forth, rubbing gentle circles on his back and kissing his head every once in a while, “it’s ok, good boy, you took your punishment very well.”

Geralt continued shushing the boy for a few more minutes, allowing him to cuddle close to his chest and relishing in their close proximity, even though he wished it hadn’t been preceded by a spanking. 

“Sorry papa,” the young man said again, and Geralt pecked his cheek.

“ _I_ forgive you, little one, but there’s someone else you should apologize to, hmm?”

Julian nodded at that, blushing again. Geralt stood up, gabbing his hand and leading him back to the kitchen, where Eskel had been cleaning the dishes and was now sitting at the table with a second cup of coffee in front of him. 

“There’s someone who would like to tell you something,” Geralt said to the other Witcher once they entered the room. Julian, who had been half hiding behind the older man, was now gently pushed forwards.

“I – I’m sorry, daddy,” he said quietly, and Eskel’s heart melted.

“C’mere little mouse,” he said, and the boy did as he was told after and encouraging nudge from Geralt. Once he was within reach, Eskel gently hooked an arm around his middle, tugging him to sit on his knee. 

Julian winced when his sore bottom came into contact with his daddy’s firm thigh, reaching back to rub at his aching backside. 

“You’re forgiven, Julian,” Eskel said, kissing his forehead before prying his hands away from his backside, “but no rubbing,” he added.

“ _But daddy!_ ” Julian whined, and the man raised an eyebrow.

“But nothing, young man. If you were naughty enough to deserve a spanking you can wait for the pain to go away by itself. I hope this will remind you to mind your manners from now on,” Eskel said, squeezing his hand gently.

Julian pouted, looking over at Geralt for support, but the other man appeared to very much agree with his husband. He huffed, dropping his head to lay in the crook of Eskel’s neck and snuggling closer to the man’s chest.

His daddy chuckled at that, a gentle rumbling in his chest, and Julian could see that his papa was smiling softly, too.

“Come on, let’s go sit on the couch, hmm?” Eskel asked quietly, and Julian nodded against his chest. This time the boy didn’t protest when he was picked up. Soon, he was cuddling on the couch in - between his caregivers, absentmindedly watching a movie. He really, _really_ loved being cared for like this, having his back rubbed gently and getting kisses every once in a while. Although he could have definitely done without the spanking, he couldn’t deny that he felt… _relieved_ , in a really strange way, because even though he hadn’t enjoyed his punishment in the slightest, and he was definitely not looking forwards to his next one (which he was sure was going to happen at some point), his caregivers had proven once again that they were reliable, in the sense that they had delivered the consequences they said they would and nothing more. 

Julian felt at ease, in a really unexpected way, and before he knew it he was starting to doze off. His eyes started to flutter open a few minutes later, when he realized he was being carried up the stairs, his caregivers whispering in hushed voices to one another. He didn’t have the energy to move, though, so he allowed Geralt to lay him down on his tummy in bed, mindful of his still sore bottom. His bear was placed close to his chest, and the boy clumsily reached out to wrap an arm around him. Faintly, Julian heard what sounded oddly like a quiet coo at that, before the blankets were tucked around him and two kisses were pressed to his head, and soon he was fast asleep.

When he woke up a few hours later, he discovered that the deep ache in his bottom had gone away, now being replaced by a sore tenderness. He used the bathroom and, afterwards, blushing the whole time, he turned his back towards the mirror and looked around, finding that his whole bottom was still rosy colored. 

Embarrassment struck him again, and he quickly replaced his clothing before heading down the stairs. He checked his phone, discovering that it was a bit later than they usually ate lunch, and his tummy rumbled in response. He _was_ hungry, having eaten almost nothing for breakfast.

“Here you are,” Geralt said once he’d entered the kitchen, bending over to kiss his forehead, “Eskel was just about to go and wake you, lunch is ready.”

The other man entered the kitchen as well, wrapping his arms around Julian in a hug from behind and settling his chin on the top of his head.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, tiling his head downwards to press a kiss to the boy’s head once he’d felt him nodding.

“You can go sit down if you want,” Geralt said a moment later, pointing to Julian’s usual chair before bending down to take a tray out of the oven. Eskel let go of the boy, moving to help the other man with taking out plates.

Julian did as he was told, moving towards his chair, noticing that a fluffy pillow from the living room had been placed on the seat. He blushed beet red at that, stopping to look around the room for a moment.

“Would you rather go without?” Eskel asked, raising a brow at the boy when he noticed his momentary reluctance.

“I… no, daddy. Thank you,” he said, ducking his head and sitting down at the table. His tender bottom was still noticeable, and he squirmed a little bit, but it definitely wasn’t as bad as it could have been. 

Eskel hummed softly at that, pleased to see that his little boy’s politeness had returned. Soon, he placed a plate in front of him, and after their meal they went back to the living room, where Geralt started to talk to Julian about whether he’d decided what optional courses he’d be taking that year, since semester was beginning in a little less than a month. 

Listening to Julian talking excitedly about the upcoming school year, sitting close to him and Geralt, who was listening closely to what their little was saying and asking questions in return, Eskel couldn’t help but smile, feeling like he was the luckiest man in earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I know the ending was maybe a bit weird, but I liked it
> 
> Also, did I just skip an entire lecture and spend another one with my camera off and not taking notes or paying attention just so I could write this chapter today? _maybeeeee..._
> 
> I remember someone commenting on my other fic about how they would've benefitted from having a daddy Geralt in college to keep them in line, and honestly same


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys :)
> 
> I, too, am very surprised I'm posting another chapter this soon, but the idea just popped up last night and wouldn't leave me alone, so here it is. It's short though, about 1800 words, but still, I hope you like it.
> 
> I'd also love to do a Christmas chapter, but I feel like I would probably be rushing things and I think I'd like to have a few more chapters before a Christmas chapter, but idk. My holiday actually starts on Thursday, so I don't really have much time to write until the 25th, either. Maybe there will be a Christmas miracle that will somehow allow me to write 3 chapters in a week, because otherwise I don't think I'll actually write a Christmas chapter. 
> 
> Anyways, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!

Julian sobbed quietly, frightened. Outside, the wind was howling steeply through the trees. Raindrops were making sharp, cutting noises when falling against the windows, and every once in a while the sky lit up, followed by a rumbling bout of thunder.

The boy continued to cry, burrowing closer into himself and clutching his stuffed bear close to his chest. He was curled up on the floor, as far away from the window as possible. He’d had a nightmare that he only half – remembered now, and he’d gotten even more scared when waking up. He’d never been a fan of thunderstorms – or any kind of rain, really – and already being in a fragile emotional state due to his previous nightmare did nothing to lessen his fear.

He’d been curled up for about ten minutes, when suddenly his bedroom door opened. He let out a startled squeak, hiding himself even more, but then the light was turned on. His caregivers came into the room, both wearing similarly concerned and sympathetic expressions on their faces.

The two WItchers had gone to bed a couple of hours before, but when Eskel woke up due to a particularly loud bout of thunder, he immediately started sensing fear coming off of his little boy, who was supposed to be long asleep in his bedroom a couple of rooms over.

After waking up Geralt – who could honestly sleep through anything – they headed over to Julian’s room, finding the boy curled up on the floor crying, clutching his stuffed bear.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Geralt asked, moving quickly to sit down on the floor next to the boy before pulling him onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him. 

Julian buried his face into his papa’s chest, wrapping his arms around the man’s torso continuing to sob for a few moments.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Eskel repeated his husband’s earlier question a few moments later, kneeling down on the floor next to the other two men and gently running his fingers through Julian’s hair.

“S-scary,” Julian whimpered, continuing to hide his face into his papa’s chest. His caregivers met each other’s eyes, frowning. Geralt placed his hand on the boy’s back, beginning to rub soothing circles in an attempt to calm him.

“Are you scared of the storm?” Eskel asked quietly, a few minutes later when the sobs had reduced somewhat, “or did you have a bad dream?”

“Both,” Julian answered, as a fresh wave of tears overtook him.

“Shh, it’s ok,” Geralt said, kissing his head and rocking him back and forth, “it’s just a dream, I know it’s scary, but it’s not real. And the storm can’t hurt you, either.” 

Geralt and Eskel’s attempts at soothing the boy continued for a few minutes, and they did seem to work, because soon the boy stopped sobbing, even though there were still tears streaming down his face.

“Do you want to tell us about the dream?” his papa asked, still gently rocking him on his lap, while his daddy had stood up from next to them for a moment.

“Don’t really remember,” Julian mumbled in response, laying his head against Geralt’s chest.

Geralt sighed softly, but didn’t insist further. “Come on, we should probably get you back to bed,” he said, pressing a kiss to the boy’s cheek.

“Don’ wanna,” he muttered, “it’s scary.”

The older man opened his mouth to say something in response, closing it again when Eskel knelt down next to them again.

“Hey, how about you sleep next to us in our room tonight, hmm? Would that make you feel better?” the other man asked, placing a warm hand on his knee.

“I can do that?” he asked, looking from Eskel to Geralt.

“Of course you can,” the white haired man answered gently, placing a hand under his chin and tilting his head up towards him, “and you can do that any time. You can come to us whenever you need, you know that.”

“O-ok,” Julian answered, relieved that he wasn’t going to have to spend the night scared and on his own.

Suddenly, a loud thunder echoed outside, making the boy jolt upwards and gasp. At that, Eskel produced a pacifier from behind his back and offered it to Julian, holding it close to the little boy’s mouth.

Julian looked at it for a moment, and his apprehension was palpable. 

“It’s ok. Come on, you can try it,” Eskel encouraged him gently, offering him a soft smile, “it’s ok if you don’t like it.”

The young man continued to look at the object for a few more seconds before tentatively opening his mouth.

Eskel’s smile broadened a little bit, and he carefully pushed the pacifier between the boy’s slightly parted lips.

The pacifier felt… strange, in Julian’s mouth, but not unpleasant. Slowly, he gave it a tentative suck, repeating the motion a couple more times when he realized it was sort of… soothing.

“Come on, let’s go back to bed,” Geralt said a few moments later, smiling softly as well. The boy’s lids were already beginning to droop, he noticed.

He stood up, still holding Julian securely in his arms, Eskel following a couple of steps behind him. 

They reached their bedroom, and Julian looked around, a bit curiously. He’d never been there before, even though he remembered Eskel telling him he could come there any time he needed, that first night he’d arrived in their home, which sometimes seemed like it happened years ago.

The room looked very cozy, with light walls and dark furniture. It was of a similar size to his own, and it also had a bathroom and closet attached.

Eskel went over to the bed, pulling back the covers that had been left in a heap when they’d rushed to Julian’s room. Geralt then placed the boy in the middle of the bed, patting his head gently. 

“Go on, lay down,” Eskel said, and the boy did as he was told. His daddy tucked a soft blanket around him, and then both of his caregivers got into bed as well, Eskel on his left and Geralt on his right. 

Eskel reached over, placing a hand on his tummy and rubbing gentle circles, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“Try to go to sleep, yeah?” he asked, and Julian nodded drowsily, already starting to doze off. He felt safe, and warm, and he realized he didn’t want to be anywhere else right now. Even the storm outside seemed to have tamed somewhat, and the only thing he wanted to do now was to go to sleep.

Geralt reached over to the lamp on his nightstand, turning it off before cuddling close to Julian’s side, tucking the boy’s head under his chin and wrapping an arm around both him and Eskel.

“Good night Julian,” he said, kissing the top of his head, “we love you,” and even though the boy was already starting to fall asleep, he still heard him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Direct continuation of the previous chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys :)
> 
> So after I've thought about it for a little bit, I decided that I won't post 3 chapters like I'd planned to this week (because honestly that's kind of a lot) but after this chapter, there's going to be a Christmas chapter going up on the 25th. I'm probably gonna do a bit of a time skip of about 2 months, but not to worry! I definitely _do_ want to write about Julian's university experience, so I'll be doing more of that later on.
> 
> Tomorrow is my last day of classes, and I'll definitely try to write more during this (short) winter break, since my finals are actually in late January/ beginning of February so I'll be a bit busier in that period.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy and as always, let me know if you have any suggestions? (Like what should Julian buy his daddies for Christmas, because I have NO idea)

The next morning, Julian woke up blinking blearily, confused with his surroundings until he remembered the last night’s events. He suddenly noticed the pacifier that was still firmly in his mouth, too, and he gave it a tentative suck. It _had_ been comforting, he’ll admit, although he wouldn’t use it outside the house. He knew there were littles who used them in public too, he’d seen it all the time, even at school, and although he didn’t care about whether other people chose to do that or not, it wasn’t something that he would ever feel comfortable doing.

Julian slowly turned his head to the side, noticing that while Eskel was still dozing with his arm wrapped around his torso, Geralt had woken up and was watching him, quietly laying on his side.

“Good morning,” the other man whispered, mindful of his still sleeping husband, “did you sleep well?” he asked, the light streaming into the room from the windows reflecting into his golden eyes.

Julian nodded, still suckling softly on his pacifier, and Geralt smiled. He pressed a kiss to the boy’s temple, before reaching out and starting to card his fingers through his hair.

Julian closed his eyes for a moment again, breathing in a sigh. He was still a bit tired, he realized, and the bed was comfortable and warm, his caregivers a steady, comforting presence. Geralt continued gently stroking his hair, and before long, the boy was asleep again.

When he woke up again about an hour later, he discovered that Geralt was gone, and Eskel was now awake and dressed, sitting up in bed next to him, his back against the headboard. The older man had been scrolling through his phone, but he set it aside once he noticed that Julian was awake.

“Hello, little one,” he said, bending over to kiss his forehead, “did you sleep well?” he repeated his husband’s earlier question.

Julian nodded, and Eskel smiled at that before continuing.

“Geralt had to go to Kaer Morhen for a while, so it’s just you and me now. I was thinking we could go get your school supplies and maybe some clothing if you wanted?” he asked.

Julian nodded at that, remembering that the new school year would start in less than a week. He was mostly excited for it, but he also felt somewhat apprehensive. He hoped that starting school wouldn’t much disrupt the dynamic they had at home, and that he’d still have some time to just… _be little_ , he supposed. When he thought about it, Julian realized he would have never believed he would end up thinking like this a couple of months ago, or how good it would be for him.

He shuffled upwards, moving to get out of bed so that he could go get changed and use the bathroom.

“Should I go make breakfast?” Eskel asked, standing up as well.

Julian nodded, once again remembering that the pacifier was still firmly in his mouth, before heading to his room. After he got dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, since it was already late September and the weather had become a bit chilly, he went downstairs, where Eskel was already placing food on their plates.

After breakfast, they got into the car and headed for the mall. First, they bought Julian’s supplies, and afterwards, while the boy was waiting on a bench, Eskel went to the car to leave their bags. The bench Julian was sitting on also happened to be situated next to a pet shop, and after careful deliberation (of roughly 30 seconds), the boy decided to go take a look. His daddy was taking _so_ long, and besides he didn’t think the man would mind, since he was not even 10 meters away from where he’d been left.

“I didn’t know you liked animals,” came a voice from behind him about 10 minutes later, while he was staring at the hamsters.

Julian jumped, startled, before turning around to face his daddy. The older man was looking down at him, one of his brows slightly raised, but he didn’t seem upset.

“Sorry for leaving, I just…” Julian trailed off, uncertain of what he should say.

“It’s fine,” Eskel sad, giving him a small, reassuring smile, “you didn’t go very far.”

Julian nodded at that, taking Eskel’s offered hand. 

“Do you want to look around for a little longer?” the older man asked.

“Uhh, no, it’s fine,” the boy said. He’d already seen all of the animals.

“So what are your favorites?” Eskel asked conversationally, a few moments later while they were heading towards a clothing store.

“Huh?” Julian mumbled.

“Your favorite animals,” Eskel clarified, giving him another gentle smile.

“I… uhh… like all of them, really. But I think cats are my favorites. And I like bunnies a lot, too,” he said.

“Hmm… I think cats are nice, too. Have you ever had one?” his caregiver asked, privately a bit apprehensive. They didn’t really talk about Julian’s childhood much. They boy had told them about it, of course, in the sense that they now knew his father was a freshly retired lawyer and his mother a secretary, and that they were horrible. Julian also had an older sister, Eskel knew, and they boy had said she was okay, but they’d never been particularly close, and they hadn’t spoken in a few years since she lived abroad. She, too, was not in very good relations with their parents.

So that wasn’t much to go on, really, besides the tear - filled conversation they’d had when Julian had told his caregivers a little bit about his childhood, namely the fact that it had been lonely and that his parents withheld affection from him. They hadn’t been outstandingly physically abusive, _“only a slap sometimes”_ , Julian had said – which to the older men actually did deem to be abusive, but the boy was already upset and it hadn’t really been the time for arguments, so they just settled for telling him that it was wrong for his parents to do that. They had been verbally and emotionally abusive though, gaslighting the boy and being in the habit of screaming at him – which, although it already was something they didn’t normally do, Eskel and Geralt had decided to be extra cautious about from then onwards. Moreover, they also considered their son _“a freak”_ for being little, so that also went to explain the boy’s initial apprehension of his designation.

Still, things were starting to improve a lot right now, and Geralt and Eskel had wholeheartedly agreed that it would be for the best if the boy never encountered his parents again.

“I… no,” Julian answered a few moments later, “I’ve never had any pets. I’ve always wanted one though.”

“Hmm,” Eskel said, in a very Geralt – like fashion, “we did have a cat some time ago. She passed away about 10 years ago, though. Her name was Roach, and your papa was very attached to her.”

Julian smiled at that, thinking that he would’ve found it really hard to imagine Geralt being attached to a cat when he’d first met the men. He still found it a bit surprising, to be honest, because he hadn’t been expecting it, but now he knew that neither of his caregivers – or Witchers, in general, or at least the ones he knew – were cold hearted, as some people still seemed to believe.

A few hours later, they were done with their shopping, though they didn’t buy nearly as much as they had on their first trip to the mall together. Julian ended up with a new pair of jeans and some boots, a couple of sweaters and sweatshirts and a light jacket. They visited the stores for littles, too, where Julian was allowed to pick some more toys - he only picked a puzzle this time, since they had been shopping a couple of other times before, and the boy now owned quite a sizeable collection of toys. After some careful, still reluctant deliberation, Julian also picked out a light blue pacifier that said _“Daddy’s boy”_ on it, which had made Eskel smile when he saw it, and a pacifier clip upon his caregiver’s suggestion.

“I’m not wearing it outside the house,” Julian had said after his daddy had told him that the clip would make it easier for him to have a pacifier whenever he needed it.

“That’s fine, little mouse,” he answered, “but you can still use it at home.”

Afterwards, they returned home, where Geralt had texted them that Lambert and Vesemir would be coming over for dinner as well. Although Geralt and Eskel rarely did order food, two puppy – eyed littles were enough to convince them to order Chinese. While they were eating in the kitchen, Vesemir also started asking the boy about the upcoming school year, which still mildly surprised Julian. While he’d long gotten over the misconception that Witchers were stony and indifferent, he didn’t know Vesemir that well to think that the man would actually be interested, and the fact that he was actually listening and nodding along to whatever Julian was saying whenever he spoke made a warm feeling swirl around in his chest.

Afterwards, Julian and Lambert went up to his room while the adults stayed downstairs, and Julian _was_ a bit nervous. Although he and Lambert got along really well and had gone out together before, this was the first time Julian would play with another little, and he was a little bit anxious.

Reaching his bedroom, the two littles sat down on the cushions on the floor. They picked out the puzzle Julian had gotten that day first, and after solving it they decided to play with the wooden blocks. As they were building towers about an hour later, Julian realized that there had been nothing to be anxious about, even if he hadn’t known it. Lambert was his friend, after all, and they were actually having fun together.

After getting bored of the blocks, too, the boys were a little bit tired, so they decided to pick out one of the story books on Julian’s bookshelf. The boy hadn’t ever read them before, and he discovered they were really fun. Some 30 minutes later, their caregivers entered the room only to find the two littles sitting down on the floor with their backs against the bedframe, leaning against one another and only half paying attention to the story book in front of them, talking quietly. They were both tired, with Julian having had a nightmare the previous night and Lambert having come back from a contract.

Gently, Vesemir lifted his little boy in his arms, saying that it would probably be best for them to go home. The other two Witchers agreed, and Geralt led them downstairs after they said goodbye to Eskel and Julian.

“Did you have fun playing with Lambert?” Eskel asked his boy when they were left alone, picking up some of the blocks still laying around on the carpet.

“Yeah,” Julian mumbled, yawning, and Eskel smiled softly. He retrieved the boy’s new pacifier from its box, offering it to Julian who took it without much hesitation.

“Let’s get you to bed, hmm?” he asked a moment later, when he’d finished cleaning up the toys, noticing how the boy’s eyelids were drooping.

“Read?” Julian asked quietly around his pacifier, slightly holding up the book that he and Lambert had been looking at.

Eskel’s heart melted at that, and he nodded, kissing the boy’s forehead before lifting him in his arms and sitting down on the armchair in the corner, placing Julian on his lap.

“Which story would you like?” he asked, beginning to slowly rock the chair and wrapping his arms around Julian from behind, opening the book at the table of contents so that the boy could see.

After scanning the page for a few seconds, Julian pointed to a story about a squirrel who had lost its home and was trying to find a new one, and Eskel began to read.

Julian leaned back against his chest, letting out a sigh and listening to his daddy’s deep, soothing voice. The boy didn’t follow the text, but he still looked at the brightly colored pictures, and about 10 minutes later, when the squirrel had found a new home with his friend the hedgehog, and Eskel was finishing reading, Julian could barely keep his eyes open anymore.

The boy let out a yawn, cuddling closer to his caregiver’s chest, and Eskel chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“Come on, let’s get you ready for bed,” he said, standing up and setting the boy on his hip, supporting him under his bottom with one arm.

After putting the book back in its place, Eskel went to the closet and picked out a pair of pyjamas for the boy.

“Do you need help?” he asked, and Julian shook his head, blushing. Eskel set the boy down, handing him the clothing and letting him go into the bathroom to change.

A few moments later, Julian came back into the bedroom dressed in a pair of patterned footed pyjamas, his pacifier still in his mouth. He noticed that Eskel had already pulled back his bedcovers, and that Geralt was now in the room as well, both older men looking at him with unconcealed adoration.

He blushed, moving to lay down in bed and allowing his daddy to tuck him in. Both men wished him a good night and kissed his head as they did every evening, and as Julian was falling asleep, he couldn’t help but think that he was really lucky to have ended up with them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holydays guys!
> 
> Sorry this may have been posted a bit later than expected, but I live in Europe so my time zone is probably different than some of yours. Anyways, I hope you had a good Christmas if you celebrated, and I'd like to say thank you again to everyone who's been commenting on this fic, reading your thoughts really means a lot to me <3
> 
> So I made Julian an artist, because I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I know everyone usually makes him a musician (because Jaskier is, y'know, _a bard_ ) but I like painting better so here he is.
> 
> As always, enjoy and let me know if you have any prompts/ suggestions

For the next couple of months Julian continued to settle in with his daddies, often realizing how good his life had become, even if it was in such an unexpected way. He started his second year of college, and although he did find it somewhat tiresome and boring at times, he soon discovered that having a stable home environment greatly improved his ability to enjoy university and focus, as well as allowing him to better enjoy his free time. Before getting adopted, Julian had spent the vast majority of his free time working or worrying about finances, but now he didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Now, asides from courses and schoolwork, his free time was spent either going out with his friends sometimes, doing other things that he liked, like shopping or painting in the small storage room that Geralt had converted into his own home studio (and Julian _was_ quite good, even if he didn’t like complimenting himself, but he’d already been featured into a show for contemporary artists and a couple of art publications), or just being little. Unexpectedly, he also found himself becoming less secretive of his classification as a little, as well. While a couple of his friends had known before, it had been treated more like an open secret, awkwardly and precariously. Now though, while the boy was definitely still not very allusive of his designation in public, it was no longer such a sore spot, and he had no qualms buying items that were specifically made for littles or mentioning Eskel and Geralt in conversations (although he always referred to them by their actual names whenever he wasn’t speaking to one of the Witchers or the sorceresses). 

Now, Julian had finally gotten a much needed break, because although school was interesting, it could also become draining sometimes, and the winter break was just what he needed in order to unwind after his midterms and also get an early start on studying for his finals. He was still on a scholarship, and while Geralt and Eskel had told him (a couple of times, actually), that he was expected to make an effort and have good grades, they’d also said that paying for his education would not be a problem at all, especially if his grades didn’t drop too badly. Still, Julian didn’t want that to happen, he wanted to have good results and for his daddies to be proud of him. He loved it when the men told him they were proud of him (which didn’t happen very rarely), and even though he’d never said it out loud, he was certain they could tell from the way in which he basically preened at the praise. It was something he hadn’t really been told, growing up, no matter how hard he’d tried, and being reminded that he now had caregivers who were proud of him – who _loved_ him – always made him feel grateful for having Eskel and Geralt.

Julian remembered how hard it had been for him to open up about his interest in painting a couple of months ago, too. It had always been something he’d been passionate about, and he’d always made a point of visiting as many art museums and galleries and knowing as much about art as possible. He’d never really experimented himself, though, apart from doodling here and there (and using the coloring books his caregivers had gotten him, but he wasn’t sure whether that counted) because his parents had deemed it a complete waste of time. A couple of days after telling his daddies about it, though, Julian had been informed that he’d been signed up for three art courses (“ _that you don’t have to go to if you don’t want to, little one,_ ” Geralt had said, “ _or you can pick some different ones if you’d like_ ”) that he’d attended and loved, and the instructors there had said something about him having “ _a lot of potential_ ”. A few more days had passed, and Geralt and Eskel presented him with one of the little storage rooms upstairs, which was full of natural lighting, that they had converted into a space for him to paint in, or do what he wanted with, really. Julian didn’t think he’d _ever_ hugged someone as hard as he did his caregivers when he’d seen the room – or that he’d ever cried of happiness before, which sounded very silly in his mind right now, even though he was still just as grateful.

Now, it was the day before Christmas, and to say he was excited would have been a big understatement. He’d tried not to let it show, at first, but gave up after a few days when he realized he wouldn’t be able to deceive his caregivers, and that the men were actually very excited for their first holidays with him, too. Although Julian was curious about the gifts he’d be getting, he was also excited just for the holiday atmosphere, really. When he was a child, he’d always wished to have a happy Christmas like in the movies, and although he now knew that those were largely exaggerated, he couldn’t help but feel like this year Christmas would be perfect, or as close as it was ever going to get.

Now, he was just finishing hanging the last ornaments up on their tree. It wasn’t much taller than Julian, and it was a natural tree still in its pot that Geralt had said they were going to be planting in the backyard after the holidays were over. Since this was the boy’s first Christmas here, he was allowed to decorate everything however he wanted. Although he hadn’t said it outright, his caregivers knew full well that he didn’t have the happiest of childhoods, and so they resolved to make his first holidays with them extra special.

Julian had said he could do it on his own when his caregivers had asked him whether he’d need help with the decorating, so Eskel was now sitting on the couch, and although the TV was turned on, it was muted and he wasn’t paying any attention to it. Instead, he was looking at the boy, resting his head in his palm and chatting quietly with him. One of the nicest things about his caregivers that Julian had discovered over time was that they also had a few things in common with him, especially Eskel, who liked art and literature just like he did (and Geralt, too, who was surprisingly into black and white movies and Renaissance painting, among other things), so they sometimes found themselves chatting about those things for hours without even noticing. Geralt was currently in the kitchen making babkas, because although Julian and Eskel also liked to cook, and they’d actually started doing more baking together, this was apparently Geralt’s signature recipe that he made every year during the holidays, and although he hadn’t told the little not to help him, Julian felt that it was probably something his papa preferred to do alone, so he stuck to decorating the tree and making cookies with his daddy later on in the evening.

The boy was just hanging the last of the baubles onto the tree, the star in his other hand, when Geralt popped his head out of the kitchen before coming into the living room. He’d been in there for almost two hours, Julian knew, so he thought he should have been done by now.

“Have you finished decorating?” the older man asked, moving closer to him.

“Yeah,” Julian said, stretching up to place the star on top of the tree. His t shirt had lifted upwards a little bit, exposing his upper back and the lower part of his tummy. Suddenly, just as he was going down from his tip tops, he felt one large hand wrapping around him from behind, the other starting to tickle his still exposed tummy.

Julian giggled uncontrollably, leaning back against Geralt and squirming. He was very ticklish, they’d realized almost by mistake a couple of weeks ago, and since then his daddies, Geralt in particular, tickled his tummy sometimes, especially if he was feeling sad.

Geralt continued ticking the boy for a few moments, stopping when he heard the snap of a camera from somewhere on his left. His husband was still on the couch, smiling, with his phone in his hand and aimed towards them. They’d started taking lots of photos in the last couple of months, both on the two vacations they’d been on and just in random, happy moments during their daily lives, just like this one.

“Papa, stop!” Julian breathed out, still giggling as he battled against Geralt’s forearm that was still wrapped around his torso. The older man pressed a kiss against the top of his head before doing as he was told.

When he was set free, Julian immediately went over to the couch, sitting down next to Eskel and burrowing himself under his stretched out arm.

“So that’s how it is,” Geralt said, raising a brow in mock disappointment.

“Daddy’s not gonna tickle me,” Julian said, cuddling closer to the man’s side. Eskel chuckled at that, leaning over to press a kiss against his temple and wrapping his arm tighter around him.

“Hmm,” Geralt said, before going over to the couch and sitting down on Julian’s other side, wrapping an arm around him as well before kissing his head again.

They spent the next few hours relaxing, and later in the afternoon Julian and Eskel started making cookies. They would be spending Christmas at home for the first part of the following day, but they would be going over to Vesemir and Lambert’s house in the afternoon. It was a tradition of theirs for the WItchers to always spend the second half of the day at Vesemir’s house, and Julian was looking forwards to it, even though he was also a little bit nervous since this was his first Christmas with them, and he didn’t want to feel like the odd one out, although he knew it was unlikely.

That evening, after he’d gotten ready for bed, dressed in a pair of footed pyjamas with little penguins printed all over, Julian sat on Eskel’s lap on the rocking armchair as the man read him another story. It had become a sort of a tradition of theirs, ever since the first time his daddy had read him a story, that they would read them together every once in a while. It wasn’t something he did with Geralt though, because this felt like something that was just for him and Eskel. Still, Julian also did things just with his papa, too, like watching movies; both the black and white movies the older man had introduced him to and newer movies or TV series that they sometimes binged.

A few moments before the story was finished, Geralt appeared in the doorway as well, smiling softly. After that, Julian was offered one of the pacifiers that he’d gotten used to sleeping with before being tucked into bed and kissed goodnight. As he was falling asleep, the boy couldn’t help but excitedly think about the next day again.

The next morning, Julian got out of bed, quickly using the bathroom before quietly climbing down the stairs. There wasn’t anyone else downstairs, which didn’t happen very often. He popped his head into the living room, sneaking a peek at the Christmas tree and the pile of presents that had appeared underneath it. Julian felt a bit sheepish for not having bought anything for the other two men, but when he’d asked Geralt about what present he should get for Eskel, the man had launched into a 10 minute long lecture about how the boy shouldn’t get them anything. So, although a bit reluctantly, Julian did as he was told, and the only thing he made for his daddies was a hand painted card in which he wrote about how much he appreciated them and how his life had improved since he’d begun living with them.

A few moments later, the boy heard two pairs of footsteps climbing down the stairs, and soon his caregivers were in the room as well.

“Merry Christmas,” Eskel said, wrapping his arms around him from behind and kissing his cheek.

“Merry Christmas,” Julian replied, snuggling closer to his daddy. Geralt came and wrapped his arms around the both of them as well, kissing his boy’s forehead and wishing him a merry Christmas. 

“What’s that?” he asked a moment later, noticing the card in his hand.

“I… uh… I know you said not to get you anything, but I still made this, to… uh... thank you,” the boy said, blushing as he handed them the card. 

Geralt took it, opening it as Eskel leaned over his shoulder to be able to see, as well. They read it quickly, and both of them had soft smiles on their face by the time they finished. 

“Thank you, sweetheart, that’s very nice,” Eskel said, kissing his forehead, and Geralt hummed in agreement. 

“C’mon, would you like to open your presents now?” Geralt asked, and the boy nodded excitedly.

The two Witchers sat down on the couch next to each other as their little boy sat down cross legged in front of the Christmas tree. One by one, Julian began unwrapping presents (and he was fairly sure there were more of them here than he’d received for the last 5 Christmases combined), thanking his caregivers for each one of them. He’d gotten mostly clothes, a few books and art supplies, as well as some more footed pyjamas and toys. He’d also gotten a new phone, which he was very excited about, because although his old one was still working, it had become a bit slow as it was already three years old. 

Just as Julian was thinking that this was undoubtedly the best Christmas he’d ever had, Eskel left the room for a few moments, saying there was one more present waiting for him. Julian was definitely excited, but also a bit confused, because it sounded like the next present would be better than the previous ones, and he couldn’t imagine what that could be.

A few minutes later, Eskel returned from the downstairs bathroom holding something small in his hands, grinning broadly. Suddenly, it meowed, and Julian let out what was probably the most undignified squeak of his life, covering his mouth with his hands. Eskel chuckled, kneeling down in front of the boy and handing him the fluffy brown kitten.

“She’s yours,” his daddy said, and Julian held her gently, running his hands through her soft fur. She was a bit larger than both of the boy’s hands and she had yellow-greenish eyes. She was a Norwegian forest cat, Julian heard Eskel add softly, and her fur was tabby and brown, with a white patch on the chest.

“I… _thank you_ ,” the boy said a moment later, sniffling slightly, “this is the best gift _ever_. And the best Christmas. You’re the best daddies in the world,” he added, moving over to the couch to awkwardly wrap his arms around the men, cat still in his hand.

“What are you going to name her?” Geralt asked a minute later, petting the kitten’s head with two fingers after they’d finished giving the boy another round of hugs.

“I…” Julian trailed off, before glancing at Eskel, who squinted at him.

“Could – could we name her Roach?” he asked, unsure.

“How did you even know about that?” Geralt asked, raising a brow at him.

“Well… uh… daddy told me once, and to be honest I don’t know any other names, either, so I thought you might like it?” he asked sheepishly.

Geralt looked at him again, not saying anything for a few moments, but his eyes were impossibly soft as he looked at his little.

“You’re a wonderful boy, did you know that?” he asked, pressing a kiss to his forehead and wrapping an arm around him.

Julian beamed. This really had been the best Christmas he’d ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian is feeling ill and his daddies take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> Sorry for the fake update from a while ago (that I've just taken down), but things have really been hectic. I have my laptop back now, so that's nice, but my exams are _still_ going on, which is very tiring. I don't have many more to go though, so I'll hopefully be able to write more in the week long break that I'll have in a little bit. I also may or may not (strongly leaning towards may) write another Witcher age play au, but idk yet since the idea is still sort of fuzzy and has some elements that probably not everyone would like, but idk yet. I'm also working on a new fic for my other Ao3 account (that I use for non ageplay fics) so there's that, and it'll take up some time as well since I really want to get it done.
> 
> But enough about that!
> 
> Sorry for ranting so much, this chapter is gonna be pretty fluffy, with sick!Julian and bathing. There's also a Geralt bathing Julian shot on my "Julian and his daddy Geralt drabbles" fic you can find on my profile (no, I haven't abandoned it or that whole series, I'm just currently lacking ideas for it.)
> 
> As always, let me know what you think, and make sure to leave any suggestions/ prompts if you have any.
> 
> Enjoy reading <3

For the next few months, Julian continued to settle in with his caregivers (and Roach). He continued to go to college, do art and spend more time with his new family, realizing time and again that his life had become wonderful in a really unexpected way. One year prior, he would never have imagined his life having turned out like this, and he would have certainly not believed that he would ever end up feeling so… happy, so loved.

His happiness was momentarily dwindled, however, because ever since his alarm had rung almost 10 minutes ago, he’d been tossing and turning, trying to get back to sleep. His head was pounding and his muscles were aching, he was feeling weak and tired. He vaguely remembered having worn a too – thin jacket a couple of days before (that his papa had scolded him about when he’d seen it) and now he was starting to really regret it.

“Julian?” came Eskel’s voice from the doorway a few moments later, and then the boy heard the door gently being pushed open.

“You’re supposed to be getting ready for school,” the older man continued, taking a few steps further into the room and nearing his bed, and Julian moaned. He did know that, it wasn’t like he’d ever been allowed to skip classes, and the one time he’d tried to do just that when he’d thought that both of his caregivers had gone to Kaer Morhen one morning had only resulted in a couple of sharp smacks to his bum (because Geralt, apparently, _hadn’t_ left) and two scoldings that had made his ears turn red from embarrassment. 

Eskel frowned at that, and he moved closer to the bed, gently peeling the blanket off of his little boy’s face. He sniffed the air softly, noticing how Julian’s usual sweet, baby – like scent had turned sickly. He laid a hand on his forehead, pleased that the boy at least didn’t seem to be feverish.

“You’re not feeling very well today, hmm?” he murmured, perching on the edge of the bed and stroking Julian’s hair away from his face, “where does it hurt, sweetie?”

“Head,” he mumbled miserably, “and my muscles are achy,” he added, leaning into Eskel’s touch, craving comfort. 

The older man sighed before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Alright, no school today, then. Stay here, yeah? I’ll be right back” he promised, and Julian nodded, turning over on his side.

Downstairs, Eskel went to the kitchen, where Geralt was currently making himself a cup of coffee.

“Is he misbehaving again?” he asked, not even turning around but sensing that Eskel had arrived alone. The little _had_ been acting up a bit these past few days, dishing out the occasional curse word and only doing what he was supposed to do the second or third times he was told to. Although they’d only needed to give him one spanking thus far, Geralt and Eskel knew he was probably starting to test waters again, and while it was good that he was feeling safe enough to do so, the older men had agreed that they definitely wouldn’t let his misbehavior slide if it continued.

“No,” Eskel replied, entering the kitchen and starting to rummage through one of the drawers, looking for medicine, “he’s sick.”

Geralt raised his brows at that, urging him to continue.

“His head hurts and his body’s aching,” he said.

“Does he have a fever?” Geralt asked, and Eskel shook his head.

“Hmm, might be just a cold, then,” he said.

“I hope so,” Eskel replied, “I don’t like seeing him like this.”

“I know,” Geralt said, “I don’t either, but we'll help him get better,” he said, quickly kissing Eskel’s lips once the man had closed the cabinet and turned around to face him. 

Eskel sighed at that, slowly breathing out through his nose as he closed his eyes for a second.

“I’ll take these up to him,” Geralt said, taking the box of pills out of his hands and moving to fill a glass with water. He went up the stairs, knocking on the door once he reached Julian’s room.

“Hello, little one,” he said, stepping into the room and taking in the boy’s miserable state from where he was laying down in bed, cocooned in his blanket, “you’re feeling awful, hmm?” he asked, placing the glass on Julian’s nightstand and bending over to kiss the boy’s temple. 

Julian whined a little, which made Geralt’s heart positively shatter.

“I know,” he murmured, “you just need to take one of these, and then you can go back to sleep,” he said, popping out one of the pills, “are you cold?”

“A little, but I don’t need any more blankets,” Julian said, taking the pill his papa gave him and gulping it down with a bit of water.

Geralt patted his head before going over to the bookshelf in the corner of the room where the box of pacifiers was still stored. Julian did use them sometimes, especially when he was in need of comfort, and Geralt figured it wouldn’t hurt to offer him one now.

He returned to the bed, wordlessly offering Julian the pacifier, and the boy took it, only a little reluctance showing through. He gave it a suck before laying back down and allowing his caregiver to tuck him back in.

A moment later, a meow sounded at the door, and Geralt turned around to see Roach standing there, regarding them curiously. She was almost 5 months old now, and she’d quickly become a much cherished member of their little family. After watching them from the doorway for a moment, she entered the room, hurrying over to the bed and making herself comfortable against Julian’s leg. Geralt reached over to rub her head absentmindedly before speaking.

“I’ll leave you to rest, yeah? Shout if you need anything, and make sure to tell daddy or I if anything else starts to hurt, ok?” he asked, and the boy nodded.

Geralt sighed, giving the boy another forehead kiss before leaving the room, making sure to leave the door open in case Roach wanted to leave.

When Julian woke up a few hours later, he discovered that his head no longer hurt nearly as much as it did before, but that the heaviness in his bones still remained, and he was still feeling somewhat drained.

He rubbed his eyes and, after using the bathroom, he decided he should go downstairs and look for his daddies. While he’d been sleeping Roach had left the room at some point, too, he’d noticed.

The boy quietly descended down the stairs. He mustn’t have been as silent as he’d thought, however, because the moment he set foot on the ground floor he was immediately met with the forms of two concerned Witchers looming worriedly over him. 

“Are you feeling any better?” Geralt asked, carefully smoothing back his hair with one hand.

“Yea,” Julian answered quietly, “my head hurts way less, but I’m still kinda achy.”

“Hmm,” Geralt replied, as per usual, and the boy could tell that he was both relieved that his sickness had gone away some and upset that it hadn’t fully disappeared. 

“How about a bath?” Eskel said after a moment of silence, regarding him carefully.

“Bath?” Julian asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, would you like me to give you one?” he asked again, “It might make you feel a little better.”

“I… ok,” he said, and Eskel smiled softly, taking his hand in his own larger one and leading him back up the stairs.

Once they’d reached the bedroom, Julian allowed Eskel to lead him into the bathroom. He was feeling sort of fuzzy, he realized, and he was content to let his daddy take care of him.

That changed about 2 minutes later, though, because after Eskel had started filling up the tub, he turned around, looking at Julian expectedly, and the boy realized he was supposed to get undressed.

“I... I can bathe by myself,” he said quickly, flushing, and Eskel looked at him pointedly for a moment.

“Julian… it’s nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart, and Geralt and I have seen you naked before, remember?” he asked, and the boy blushed a shade deeper. He remembered having fallen asleep on the downstairs couch on a couple of occasions, snuggling comfortably between his daddies, and he’d noticed he’d always woken up dressed in pyjamas the following morning, even when he’d fallen asleep dressed differently.

“It’s ok,” Eskel repeated, “it’s certainly nothing I haven’t seen before or I don’t have myself.”

“ _Daddy!_ ” Julian whined indignantly, blushing even deeper, which he’d hardly thought would be possible.

Eskel chuckled at that, before turning around to switch off the faucet once he’d noticed that the tub was already more than halfway full.

“Come on, would you like me to help you?” the older man asked, and Julian nodded. 

In less than half a minute, his daddy had already undressed him, and Julian was feeling embarrassedly small as he was standing there, naked in the middle of the bathroom.

The sensation didn’t last long, however, because a moment later his daddy was ushering him towards the bath, helping him settle down. The water was hot and soothing, exactly how he liked it, and he wondered briefly how Eskel had known that. It was already starting to soothe away at his aching bones.

Then, Eskel dropped a bath bomb into the water, and Julian smiled a little as he watched it bubble up. His daddy smiled fondly at that, bending over to run a hand through his hair before he kissed his forehead.

“Would you like me to wash your hair?” he asked, and Julian nodded.

Eskel hummed at that, pressing another kiss to his cheek before standing up and retrieving the shampoo and conditioner bottles, as well as a frothy body wash that smelled of mangoes.

“Lean back a bit,” he told the boy a moment later when he’d returned. Julian did as he was told, feeling his caregiver turn on the showerhead and use it to wet his hair. Eskel held one hand on his forehead carefully, so that no water could go into his eyes, and Julian’s chest filled with that warm sensation he’d grown so accustomed to over the past few months when he thought about it, about how his daddy cared about him so much that he paid attention even to small, insignificant details like that.

Eskel turned the showerhead off, and a moment later he began shampooing Julian’s head, his broad fingers soothing as he gently but thoroughly washed his hair. When he was finished, Eskel rinsed his hair out the same way he’d wet it earlier, being careful to shield his eyes. Then, he massaged a good amount of conditioner into the boy’s hair, deciding that he should probably start washing his body while the conditioner was soaking in.

The older man grabbed a loofah from the side of the tub, submerging it in water before lathering it with body wash. He started washing Julian’s back first, noticing how the boy didn’t protest as he’d expected him to, but rather appeared to be relaxing. 

Then, Eskel moved on to washing his arms and torso, and Julian giggled when the loofah tickled at his armpits, as well as when his daddy purposefully tickled his tummy afterwards.

“ _Daddy!_ ” Julian shrieked, delighted and squirming. He stopped giggling when he let one arm drop too suddenly into the water though, because a moment later both Eskel and a small portion of the floor were partially covered in water.

“Sorry,” Julian mumbled, blushing as he looked away.

“It’s ok, little mouse, you were just playing,” Eskel said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He continued washing his boy, and Julian blushed beet red when Eskel reached his privates. His daddy’s touches were brief and clinical though, which made Julian relax some (not that he though any of the Witchers would ever touch him _that_ way, but he was still embarrassed).

Afterwards, Eskel grabbed the showerhead again, once more rinsing the boy’s hair before helping him out of the bath. He wrapped Julian up in a big fluffy towel, patting him dry before proceeding to do the same to his hair.

Julian let his daddy help him into a pair of footed pyjamas before allowing the man to lift him up on his hip, leading him to his and Geralt’s bedroom so that he could dry his hair. Inside, Geralt was sitting up in bed, leaning back against the headboard and absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

He smiled when he saw Eskel and Julian enter the room, turning off his phone and allowing the boy to come cuddle against his side once he’d been settled down.

“How are you feeling?” he murmured, pressing a kiss to his brow.

“Fine,” Julian answered, “my body’s still a bit achy, though.”

“Hmm,” Geralt answered as his husband reentered the room, hairdryer in hand. 

“Come here,” Eskel said, pointing to the armchair in the corner of the living room next to which he’d plugged the hairdryer in.

“Why don’t you go let daddy dry your hair and I’ll go make you a snack, hmm? And then you can have a nap,” Geralt said, giving the boy a gentle push towards his husband.

About 10 minutes later, Julian’s hair was dry, and he was just settling into his caregivers’ bed like Eskel had instructed him to when Geralt entered the room, a plate in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

After setting down the glass on one of the nightstands, his papa sat down on the bed next to Julian, both of them leaning against the headboard as Geralt wrapped an arm around the younger man. On the plate, there were a few different kinds of small sandwiches cut into bite-size pieces, Julian could see now, and a moment later his papa was pressing one against his lips. Julian glanced up towards his caregiver, tentatively, although Geralt did nothing more aside from offering him a soft smile and a small, encouraging nod. 

A few minutes later Eskel joined them as well, settling down on Julian’s other side. By then, the boy had almost finished eating everything on the plate, but he was already growing tired again, and soon he announced that he was full.

While Eskel took the plate to the kitchen after bending down to press a kiss to his little boy’s head, Geralt settled down on the bed with him, one arm still wrapped against his middle.

Julian felt his eyelids grow increasingly steady as he lay there against his daddy’s side, one large hand gently rubbing his back, and before long he was asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING:** there is spanking in this chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> So I've finally written the chapter of Eskel punishing Julian. It's just an Eskel and Julian chapter actually. I sometimes think I focus too much on Eskel in this fic, but then again all my other fics (thus far 👀) are only of Geralt and Jaskier/Julian, so there. Plus, as I said, I adore Eskel.
> 
> Anyways, I've been feeling a bit uninspired as of late, so if you have any suggestions for what you'd like to read they would be appreciated (I know some of you have given suggestions already in the comments, both for this fic and my other fics, and I will get around to writing some of them, but I'm also a bit busy since second semester has just started and my schedule is an absolute nightmare). I was thinking of maybe writing something about Julian bumping into his parents in public for this fic, and I know I promised it some time ago, so that's _probably_ what next chapter is going to be, but again idk _when_ that will be.
> 
> Anyways, enough of that.
> 
> Enjoy!

Eskel sighed, stopping at the last red light, about 200 meters before he had turn left to enter the street they lived on. It was already 9 AM now, and the traffic was infernal. He and Geralt had left home early that day, at about 6.30, when Julian had still been asleep. Eskel had dropped Geralt off at Kaer Morhen, from where he would leave on a contract with Rennes. It was a striga, and although Geralt had killed one or two before, it was always better to have help for the more dangerous monsters.

Geralt would be gone for a couple of days, and after dropping him off Eskel went to the grocery store to pick up some food for the next few of days. Julian’s classes began at 8 this morning, and he was supposed to get an Uber on his own. Although Geralt or Eskel usually drove him to college, the little sometimes got there on his own as well, typically when the older men had to go to Kaer Morhen early in the morning. 

The light went green, and Eskel pressed on the acceleration pedal, turning left in a few moments and parking into their garage. Afterwards, he picked up the bags of groceries, carrying them to the kitchen before returning to the front door to take off his boots. He frowned, noticing that the pair of Julian’s current favorite boots was still outside. Eskel slid open the hallway wardrobe where they kept shoes, checking to see if the little had taken another pair today, but that wasn’t the case.

Frowning, the Witcher marched up the stairs, reaching Julian’s room and gently pushing the door open. Sure enough, the little was still asleep, dressed in a blue footed pyjama, laying on his side with a pacifier still in his mouth. He did look adorable, Eskel thought, even though he was about to be in serious trouble when he woke up. The older man would have probably let Julian off scot free if the boy had just been tired this once, but the phone he was still clutching in one hand indicated that this wasn’t the case at all. Eskel remembered that Julian had seemed more tired some mornings, especially as of late, and now he knew why. 

Sighing, Eskel turned around, softly closing the door behind him before going back downstairs to sort out the groceries. He decided he’d let Julian sleep in as much as he wanted, and since he’d already missed out on some classes, Eskel decided to just let him stay home for the rest of the day, even if it was going to be with a sore bottom. 

Reaching the kitchen, Eskel made himself a second cup of coffee after putting the groceries away. He sat down at the kitchen table, shaking his head slightly. He didn’t want to punish his little, but he couldn’t allow Julian to break the rules like this, either. The boy had only gotten one spanking thus far, and asides from the occasional misbehavior which earned him a couple of swats on the bottom or some time sitting in a corner, he was usually very well behaved. 

About half an hour later, when Eskel had moved to the living room couch and was now absentmindedly scrolling through the news on his laptop, he heard a noise from upstairs, followed by a muffled groan which sounded very much like ‘fucking shit’. The Witcher sighed, closing his laptop and shaking his head. That kind of language would have normally earned Julian some time in the corner, but Eskel decided to let it slide this once, since he was about to punish the boy anyway. 

A few moments later, Julian came hurrying down the stairs, still dressed in his pyjamas, stopping dead in his tracks once he noticed his daddy sitting there on the living room couch, watching him expectantly, brow raised.

“Did you sleep well?” Eskel asked, and Julian gaped, unable to say anything for a few seconds before beginning to blurt out apologies a mile a minute.

“Hush,” Eskel said, and the boy did as he was told, “what time did you go to bed last night, young man?”

“I... _9:30_?” Julian mumbled, and Eskel raised a brow at him, watching him sternly.

“The truth, little boy,” he said, and Julian blushed, looking away.

“11:30?” he said, bashfully, and the older man sighed.

“Come here,” Eskel said, and Julian reluctanlty did as he was told after a moment of careful deliberation. When he reached the couch, his caregiver pulled him to sit sideways on one of his knees, and Julian avoided meeting his gaze.

“What time are you supposed to go to bed, hmm?” Eskel asked, gently grasping Julian’s chin and tilting his head up towards him, so that the boy met his eyes.

“9:30.”

“That’s right. So instead of doing what you were supposed to do, you decided to stay up later on your phone, and then you were tired in the morning and fell back asleep after your alarm rang. Is that right?”

Julian swallowed thickly, nodding slightly.

“Have you been doing this often?” the Witcher asked again, and Julian looked away.

_“Julian…”_ Eskel said expectantly, and his little one nodded after a few moments.

“Alright,” the man sighed, “from now on your phone is going to stay on the bookshelf at bedtime; and you’re going to get a spanking.”

“ _No!_ Daddy, please” Julian said, his blue eyes wide and glassy. The Witcher didn’t budge, of course, but he still thought that the boy was adorable.

“Enough, Julian, you’re very lucky that I’m letting you keep your phone and that I’m not sending you to bed early for the rest of the week,” the older man scolded before moving to maneuver the little so that Julian was lying face down over his lap in less than a minute.

_“Daddy!”_ Julian whined, his hands flying back to protect his bottom. He absolutely had not wanted to end up over one of his caregivers’ knee again.

Eskel tsked, grasping the boy’s wayward hand into his own larger ones before pinning them to the small of his back. Then, he unbuttoned the drop seat of Julian’s footed pyajamas, exposing the boy’s bare bottom to the room.

“Not bare!” Julian protested, kicking his legs and blushing. For some reason, having the drop seat of his pyjamas lowered was more embarrassing than when Geralt had pulled his pants and underwear down for a spanking.

“Yes, bare,” Eskel said, “that’s what happens when you decide to be a naughty boy, you get spanked on your bare bottom.”

With that, the Witcher began administering the punishment, delivering firm, stinging swats to Julian’s exposed backside. The little squirmed, kicking his legs as his daddy held him firmly around the waist, peppering his bottom with rapid, stinging smacks that soon had him tearing up.

His daddy and papa didn’t punish very differently, Julian realized after a few moments, but he didn’t really know whether he should be relieved or alarmed by that, as the only thing he could currently focus on was his smarting bum.   
Eskel continued the punishment, covering his little boy’s bottom down to the tops of his thighs with crisp swats, and soon Julian began crying openly.

“I’m very disappointed in you, young man,” he said sternly, not even momentarily stopping the spanking as he continued to rhythmically deliver firm smacks to the little bottom propped up over his knee, “I hope you learn something from this, Julian. The rules are in place for a reason, they’re there for your own good, and if you ever do something like this again the punishment will be much more serious, do you understand?”

“ _Yes!_ Yes daddy, _sorry_!” Julian sniffled, mentally vowing to never break the rules for something as stupid as staying up a few hours later again.

After a few more smacks the spanking was over and Julian was gently lifted onto his caregiver’s lap. He immediately buried his face into the other man’s neck, crying his eyes out and mumbling apologies.

“Shh, it’s okay.” Eskel rumbled, gently rocking his little back and forth, rubbing his back in soothing circles and pressing soft kisses to his hair, “it’s okay, you’re forgiven.”

A few minutes later, Julian had calmed down after Eskel kept rubbing his back and hair, although there were still a few stray tears streaming down his cheeks.

“It’s okay, little mouse,” Eskel murmured, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead, “but I don’t want you to do something like this again, yeah?” he added, gently wiping Julian’s tears with his thumb.

The boy nodded, sniffling as he laid his head back against his caregiver’s chest for a couple of minutes, closing his eyes. 

“How about we go make you something to eat, hmm?” Eskel asked a couple of minutes later, still rubbing his back.

Julian blinked, looking up at his caregiver with big, shining blue eyes and nodding.

“Do you think you can change on your own?” Eskel asked, sensing that the boy was feeling a bit younger than usual.  
Julian shook his head, and his daddy nodded, kissing his temple and standing up, setting him on his hip. Julian blushed when he felt the older man supporting him from under his bottom with one hand, realizing that his bottom was still bare.

A few minutes later, they were back downstairs, with Julian dressed in a pair of soft sweatpants and a warm sweater. They went to the kitchen, where Julian reluctantly sat down on one of the hard wooden chair as his caregiver began making him breakfast.

When he’d finished cooking, Eskel took pity on the boy, allowing him to sit on his lap as he fed him small bites of scrambled egg. When he’d first gotten here, Julian didn’t even want to think about his caregivers helping him eat, but a lot of things had changed since then, Eskel realized with a soft smile.

He was glad that Julian had progressed so much in such a relatively short period, not even half a year. Even though they’d had their ups and downs, and they would like continue to do so, Eskel knew that adopting Julian was the best decision he and Geralt had ever made, and they wouldn’t trade him for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Reviews, thoughts, constructive criticism and ideas are very much appreciated <3
> 
> Find me on tumblr @strawberryeskel


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